Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Trump on Manchester bombing: the terrorists are “evil losers”

Deadly Blast Kills 22 at Manchester Arena Pop Concert
Deadly Blast Kills 22 at Manchester Arena Pop Concert
Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of a terrorist explosion.
Dave Thompson/Getty Images

President Donald Trump pulled out one of his harshest insults on Tuesday to describe the terrorists responsible for killing more than 22 people at a concert in the United Kingdom. He called them “evil losers.”

Trump condemned the Monday night attack after a meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem, which was part of his scheduled overseas trip. He wouldn’t go as far as calling the perpetrators “monsters,” he said, because they would probably “think that’s a great name.” So he called them what the president considers to be the worst imaginable thing: a loser.

“So many young, beautiful innocent people living and enjoying their lives murdered by evil losers in life,” he said. “I will call them from now on losers, because that’s what they are. They’re losers. And we’ll have more of them. But they’re losers. Just remember that.”

The terrorist attack happened around 10:33 pm local time at a concert hall in Manchester, England, where pop star Ariana Grande was concluding her concert. The explosion killed 22 people and injured 59, according to Greater Manchester police. ISIS later claimed responsibility for the attack, describing the perpetrator as a “soldier of the caliphate” who planted bombs “in the middle of Crusaders gatherings.”

Police believe that only one man carried out the mass killing, and that he died at the arena. He has been identified, but police have not released his name to the public.

Trump used the opportunity to ask countries to work together to defeat ISIS —something he’s brought up repeatedly with leaders during his first presidential trip abroad.

“Our society can have no tolerance for this continuation of bloodshed. We cannot stand a moment longer for the slaughter of innocent people,” he said. “And in today’s attack, it was mostly innocent children. The terrorists and extremists, and those who give them aid and comfort, must be driven out of our society forever. This wicked ideology must be obliterated, and I mean completely obliterated. Life must be protected.”

More in Politics

Politics
The rise of the progressive billionaire candidateThe rise of the progressive billionaire candidate
Politics

Why some on the left are feeling warmly toward Tom Steyer and other very wealthy contenders.

By Andrew Prokop
Politics
Mifepristone survives another Supreme Court scare — for nowMifepristone survives another Supreme Court scare — for now
Politics

Only Thomas and Alito publicly dissented.

By Ian Millhiser
Podcasts
Why the anti-abortion movement is disappointed in TrumpWhy the anti-abortion movement is disappointed in Trump
Podcast
Podcasts

Trump helped overturn Roe. Anti-abortion advocates still aren’t happy.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Politics
A year of Trump is backfiring on the religious rightA year of Trump is backfiring on the religious right
Politics

Americans don’t really want “Christian nationalism.”

By Christian Paz
Politics
The real reason Americans hate the economy so muchThe real reason Americans hate the economy so much
Politics

Did decades of low inflation make the public far more unforgiving when it finally did surge?

By Andrew Prokop
Podcasts
The Supreme Court abortion pills case, explainedThe Supreme Court abortion pills case, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

How Louisiana brought mifepristone back to SCOTUS.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram