US President Donald Trump has sought to explain why he referred to a security incident in Sweden on Friday which did not actually happen.

Addressing a rally on Saturday, he had said, “look at what’s happening last night in Sweden”, as he listed parts of Europe hit by terrorist attacks.

With no such incident reported in Sweden on Friday, the country asked the US administration for an explanation, reports the BBC.

Trump tweeted on Sunday that he had been referring to a TV report.

He said it had been broadcast on Fox News but did not say when. He may have been referring to a Fox News program on Friday night, which looked at refugees and crime in Sweden.

Despite his words “happening last night in Sweden”, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said separately that Trump had been talking about rising crime and recent incidents in general, not referring to a specific issue.

Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt was among those who mocked Trump’s comment, suggesting that he had “been smoking”.

Social media users ridiculed the American leader, joking about imaginary situations involving Swedish institutions like the pop group Abba and furniture store Ikea.

The mocking hashtag #lastnightinSweden was soon trending on Twitter.

Many made reference to the “Bowling Green massacre”, a non-existent attack cited by one of President Trump’s key advisers, Kellyanne Conway, earlier this month.

BDST: 2056 HRS, FEB 20, 2017
SR