Swedes completed the three stages of processing a blatant Trump administration lie (confusion, followed by anger, followed by Twitter jokes), after the president implied at a rally in Florida on Saturday that Sweden experienced a terrorist attack on Friday.
“You look at what’s happening,” Trump told the crowd. “We’ve got to keep our country safe. You look at what’s happening in Germany, you look at what’s happened last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this?”
Hopefully no one? Trump then referenced Paris, Nice and Brussels, European cities where recent terrorist attacks have occurred.
The jokes were…ok. Here’s a humorous attempt from former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt.
And everyone, no matter their nationality, made fun of IKEA.
But, seriously, what was Trump doing delivering a campaign-style rant in Florida anyway? Aside from getting shit wrong, not much. Trump’s lies, fact-checked by the New York Times, included claims that there is no screening process for refugees coming into the United States (screening is actually extensive), and that Americans are optimistic about the future (we are tweeting IKEA jokes to keep from crying).