Washington: Known for his gaffes, US President Donald Trump yet again committed a faux pas on Sunday as he erroneously wrote that "138 million people" were killed in a string of blasts in Sri Lanka.
The near-simultaneous attacks on Easter Sunday at three churches and as many luxury hotels frequented by foreigners killed more than 160 people and injured over 450 others, shattering a decade of peace in the country after the end of the brutal civil war with the LTTE.
President Trump offered "heartfelt condolences" to the people of Sri Lanka and said the US stood ready to help.
The US leader, however, erroneously wrote that "138 million people" were killed in the attacks instead of just 138.
"Heartfelt condolences from the people of the United States to the people of Sri Lanka on the horrible terrorist attacks on churches and hotels that have killed at least 138 million people and badly injured 600 more. We stand ready to help!" Trump said in a tweet which was taken down after more than 20 minutes.
138 people have been killed in Sri Lanka, with more that 600 badly injured, in a terrorist attack on churches and hotels. The United States offers heartfelt condolences to the great people of Sri Lanka. We stand ready to help!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2019
Trump's tweet did not go unnoticed by the agile twitterati who started poking fun at the appalling tweet.
"138 million? Maybe you should wait for the facts pops," wrote one follower of the US president.
"We are a population of 20 million. 138 million is mathematically impossible. Keep your icky condolences, we don't want it," responded another user.
"138 million! More than the population of Sri Lanka. We are now an empty Country as per Donald!!" said another follower.
Trump is known for his wrong tweets and for using embarrassing nicknames as well as 'mispronouncing names' of people such as "Jeff Bozo" in reference to Jeff Bezos of Amazon.
In March, he mistakenly referred to Apple CEO Tim Cook as "Tim Apple", a verbal slip which netizens poked fun at by sharing rib-tickling memes on social media.
Last year, he had called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson "Marillyn Lockheed."
PTI
