The British surgeon who today unwittingly found himself at the centre of yet another Donald Trump international faux pas has responded with an invitation and a couple of funny gifs.
Martin Griffiths, Lead for Trauma Surgery at Royal London Hospital, was referenced by the US President during a gun rally on Friday as he appeared to suggest guns are the solution to rising knife crime in London.
Responding to a Channel 4 News tweet of the speech, Griffiths first replied with some Kanye-inspired meme magic.
He was then asked what it felt like to be “misquoted” by Trump.
Trump seems to have been referring to comments made last month by Griffiths, who said military colleagues had described their work as being similar to a UK military base in Afghanistan.
Speaking at a National Rifle Association (NRA) meeting, the President promised to protect US gun rights, telling the Dallas conference they were currently “under siege”.
Comparing the US to the UK, he said a top hospital in the capital was like a “military warzone hospital” despite “unbelievable tough gun laws”.
“I recently read a story that in London, which has unbelievably tough gun laws, a once very prestigious hospital right in the middle is like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds,” Trump said on Friday.
“They don’t have guns. They have knives and instead there’s blood all over the floors of this hospital.”
Pretending to stab someone, the 71-year-old continued: “They say it’s as bad as a military warzone hospital. Knives, knives, knives, knives.”
Professor Karim Brohi, a trauma surgeon at the Royal London Hospital, said a suggestion that guns could be part of the solution to tackle violence is “ridiculous”.
In a statement following Mr Trump’s comments, he said: “Knife violence is a serious issue for London. We are proud of the excellent trauma care we provide and of our violence reduction programmes.
“The Royal London Hospital has cut the number of our young patients returning after further knife attacks from 45% to 1%.
“There is more we can all do to combat this violence, but to suggest guns are part of the solution is ridiculous.
“Gunshot wounds are at least twice as lethal as knife injuries and more difficult to repair.
“We are proud of our world-leading service and to serve the people of London.”
The London Mayor’s office declined to comment on Trump’s latest remarks.
Sadiq Khan has previously clashed with the US president over Khan’s response to terrorism.
Trump also argued during his NRA speech that the Paris terror attack, which left 130 people dead, could have been prevented if more people were armed.
Trump will make a working visit to the UK on July 13, but details of his trip have not yet been confirmed.
The US ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, said Mr Trump would “definitely” be coming to London, despite the warnings of likely demonstrations.