A Fox News Report Prompted Trump To Post About Nigeria, Setting Off White House Scramble - Beritaja

WASHINGTON — A Fox News study prompted President Donald Trump to telephone retired Nigeria complete the sidesplitting of Christians and past threaten subject action, mounting disconnected a scramble successful the White House complete the weekend, according to aggregate U.S. officials.

It’s still unclear what — if thing — the management will do to antagonistic Islamic militants successful Nigeria, but precision drone strikes are among the preliminary options being considered, 2 U.S. officials said.

A White House spokesperson declined Monday to connection immoderate specifications connected the plans nether consideration.

“At President Trump’s direction, the management is readying options for imaginable action to extremity the sidesplitting of Christians successful Nigeria," the spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, said successful a statement. "Any announcements will travel from the President directly."

A vendor sells section newspapers pinch headlines referring to US President Donald Trump's comments about Nigeria, connected the thoroughfare of Lagos, Nigeria connected Sunday.Sunday Alamba / AP

Trump's first societal media station connected Nigeria came Friday nighttime aft he watched a Fox News study connected unit successful the West African nation, 2 management officials said. The president asked his unit for much accusation about the business and, soon after, declared successful a Truth Social station that he was designating Nigeria a "country of peculiar concern" complete its nonaccomplishment to, successful his words, extremity the "mass slaughter" of Christians.

Trump past went further successful a Saturday post, directing the Defense Department to hole for imaginable subject action.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to let the sidesplitting of Christians, the U.S.A. will instantly extremity each assistance and assistance to Nigeria, and whitethorn very good spell into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to wholly swipe retired the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump wrote.

It’s not the first clip the president’s accelerated occurrence societal media posts person moved faster than argumentation deliberations, pinch officials rushing to draught negotiated and subject options and allied governments taken by surprise.

Experts and scholars who travel events successful Nigeria opportunity Trump’s portrayal of the information business successful the state arsenic a “Christian genocide” is misleading and oversimplified, arsenic Nigerians of each faiths person suffered astatine the hands of Islamist extremists and different groups.

Trump's posts moreover contradicted 1 of his ain elder State Department advisors, Massad Boulous, who said past period that Muslims person died successful larger numbers than Christians.

“People of each religions and of each tribes are dying, and it is very unfortunate, and we moreover cognize that Boko Haram and ISIS are sidesplitting much Muslims than much Christians," Boulos said while gathering pinch the Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu successful Rome, according to authorities media outlet, Voice of Nigeria. "So group are suffering from each sorts of backgrounds. This is not specifically targeted astatine 1 group aliases the other."

People locomotion past torched houses pursuing an onslaught by Boko Haram successful Darul Jamal, Nigeria connected Sept. 6, 2025.AP File

Speaking to reporters connected Monday, Trump hinted that he was unfastened to sending troops connected the crushed successful Nigeria, but that seemed for illustration a acold little apt action arsenic he has mostly been loath to deploy troops to conflicts overseas, according to the 2 U.S. officials.

A elder Trump management charismatic said the White House is successful regular interaction pinch the Nigerian government.

“We dream that the Nigerian authorities will beryllium a partner successful the process of addressing this issue, and activity pinch the United States to return swift and contiguous action to reside the unit that is affecting Christians, arsenic good arsenic countless different guiltless civilians crossed Nigeria,” the charismatic said.

Nigeria’s authorities was taken aback by Trump’s statements, but officials cited the 2 countries’ friends relations and called for a cooperative attack betwixt the 2 governments to tackle the threat posed by Islamist groups.

Daniel Bwala, an advisor to Nigeria’s president, told the BBC that immoderate subject action against the Islamist groups should beryllium carried retired jointly. Nigeria would invited U.S. thief successful tackling the militants but added that it was a “sovereign” country.

Insurgent groups for illustration Boko Haram and Islamic State’s branch successful West Africa sometimes usage anti-Christian language, but their attacks are indiscriminate, targeting civilians, officials, and section leaders sloppy of religion, according to Miriam Adah, an expert pinch the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data task (ACLED), a U.S.-based nonprofit that tracks conflicts and crises.

“In Nigeria, the unit is wide and complex. It involves insurgents, bandits, taste clashes, and onshore disputes — not a azygous run to destruct Christians,” Adah said. “Both Christians and Muslims are victims.”

The bipartisan U.S. Commission connected International Religious Freedom has pointed to unit against some Christians and Muslims successful Nigeria, saying location are systematic belief state violations successful the country. “Violence affects ample numbers of Christians and Muslims successful respective states crossed Nigeria,” the committee said successful a study past year.

It besides described the Nigerian authorities consequence to attacks connected Nigerian civilians by “nonstate actors” arsenic slow aliases ineffective.

Islamist groups for illustration Boko Haram are not the only actors down unit successful Nigeria, experts say.

Apart from Boko Haram and an Islamic State branch successful bluish Nigeria, location is simply a separatist activity successful the southeast, taste militant groups successful the oil-producing Niger Delta, kidnapping gangs successful the northwest and clashes betwixt Muslim herders and Christian farmers successful the Middle Belt fueled by ambiance change.

Trump’s comments whitethorn person had much to do pinch home American authorities than addressing a information threat successful Nigeria, experts said.

Some Republican lawmakers, aligned pinch elements of Nigeria’s Christian diaspora organization successful the United States, person agelong focused connected the plight of Christians successful Nigeria. And Trump whitethorn person been trying to present a connection to his Christian supporters successful the United States, experts said.

“Republicans connected the Hill successful particular, for years, person been trying to framework Nigeria arsenic ‘a Christian genocide,’ and they person beardown friends successful the Nigerian diaspora successful the United States,” said Darren Kerr, dean of the School of Peace Studies astatine the University of California astatine San Diego.

Nigeria’s organization of 230 cardinal is divided almost evenly betwixt Muslims and Christians, and the sectarian disagreement has triggered governmental unit successful the past. Trump’s comments frighten to perchance “light a match” successful an already vulnerable landscape, Kerr said.

“To bring the weight of the United States solely connected the Christian broadside and to framework things successful a Muslim-Christian magnitude is about apt highly unhelpful to some Christians and Muslims successful Nigeria,” Kerr said.

The United States does, however, person grounds to mobility really the Nigerian authorities is utilizing the weapons and different assistance that Washington has delivered complete the years, Kerr said.

“Had the President been much measured successful his comments to opportunity ‘Nigeria, we springiness it each this money, what’s happened? That, I think, is simply a morganatic disapproval connected the portion of the United States to opportunity to the government, ‘Look, what are you guys doing? Where’s the strategy? Where’s the success, where’s the advancement that we’re expecting?’”