--- description: The White House worked to clarify President Donald Trump's comments, when he seemingly referred to an act of terrorism in Sweden title: White House Clarifies Trump's Comments on Sweden image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ce44f6eeee55903/6988bb0797cdff15df6af895/donald-trump-explain.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # President Trump Made a Confusing Reference to Sweden. Here’s What the White House Says He Meant by [Zeke J Miller / West Palm Beach, Fla.](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / West Palm Beach, Fla. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 19, 2017 10:19 PM CUT  President Donald Trump and a supporter invited onstage during a "Make America Great Again" rally at Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2017. President Donald Trump and a supporter invited onstage during a "Make America Great Again" rally at Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2017.Kevin Lamarque—Reuters by [Zeke J Miller / West Palm Beach, Fla.](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / West Palm Beach, Fla. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 19, 2017 10:19 PM CUT The White House worked to clarify [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4676011/donald-trump-melbourne-florida-rally/ "undefined")‘s comments from Saturday, when he seemingly[ referred to an act of terrorism in Sweden the night before](http://time.com/4676024/donald-trump-sweden-terror-attack-rally/ "undefined"), saying he was in fact referring to a news report on rising crime in that country. Speaking to reporters Sunday, principal deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that Trump was referring to general incidents of rising crime in Sweden committed by refugees, and not an act of terror. A[ Fox News segment Friday night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSzjfAMk-RI "undefined") included a report from a documentary filmmaker claiming a link between refugee admissions and rising crime. “You look at what’s happening in Germany. You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden — Sweden — who would believe this? Sweden, they took in large numbers, they are having problems like they never thought possible. You look at what’s happening Brussels, you look at what’s happening all over the world,” Trump said Saturday evening at a campaign rally. “He was talking about rising crime and recent incidents in general, and not referring to a specific incident,” Sanders said. “I think he was referring to a report he had seen the previous night that spoke specifically to that topic,” Sanders added, declining to confirm that Trump had specifically watched the Fox News segment. Shortly after Sanders spoke, Trump tweeted to confirm he was referring to the Fox News report. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/833435244451753984) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4676133/white-house-donald-trump-sweden/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4676133/white-house-donald-trump-sweden/"},"headline":"President Trump Made a Confusing Reference to Sweden. 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