After Donald Trump\u2019s infamous \u2018what\u2019s happening in Sweden\u2019 comment, Nils Bildt was billed on The O\u2019Reilly Factor as Swedish national security advisor. Swedish military and foreign-affairs officials have said they know nothing about a man who appeared on Fox News in the US billed as a \u201cSwedish defence and national security advisor\u201d.
\nSwedes, and some Americans, have been wondering about representations of the Scandinavian nation in the US since President Donald Trump invoked \u201cwhat\u2019s happening last night in Sweden\u201d while alluding to past terror attacks in Europe during a rally on 18 February. There was no major incident in Sweden the previous night.
\nFollowing Trump\u2019s comments, Fox News commentator Bill O\u2019Reilly convened an on-air discussion on Thursday over Swedish immigration and crime between a Swedish newspaper reporter and a man identified on screen and verbally as a \u201cSwedish defence and national security advisor\u201d, Nils Bildt.
\nBildt linked immigration to crime and social problems in Sweden, lamented what he described as Swedish liberal close-mindedness about the downsides of welcoming newcomers and said: \u201cWe are unable in Sweden to socially integrate these people.\u201d
\nBut the Swedish defense ministry and foreign office told the newspaper DagensNyheter they knew nothing of Bildt. Calls to Swedish officials on Saturday were not immediately returned.
\nBildt is a founding member of a corporate geopolitical strategy and security consulting business with offices in Washington, Brussels and Tokyo, according its website. His biography speaks to expertise on defence and national security issues, saying his experience includes serving as a naval officer, working for a Japanese official and writing books on issues ranging from investment and political climates to security issues with working in hostile environments.
\nBut security experts in Sweden said he was not a familiar figure in their ranks in that country.
\n\u201cHe is in not in any way a known quantity in Sweden and has never been part of the Swedish debate,\u201d Swedish Defence University leadership professor Robert Egnell said by email to The Associated Press on Saturday. He and Bildt \u2014 also known then as Nils Tolling \u2014 were in a master\u2019s degree program in war studies together at King\u2019s College London in 2002-2003, and Bildt moved to Japan soon after, he said.
\nThe executive producer of The O\u2019Reilly Factor said Bildt was recommended by people the show\u2019s booker consulted while making numerous inquiries about potential guests.
\n\u201cAfter pre-interviewing him and reviewing his bio, we agreed that he would make a good guest for the topic that evening,\u201d executive producer David Tabacoff said in a statement.
\nThe network said O\u2019Reilly was expected to address the subject further on Monday\u2019s show.
\nBildt didn\u2019t respond on Saturday to email inquiries; a person who answered the phone at his company agreed to relay one. He told DagensNyheter on Friday that he was a US-based independent analyst, and Fox News had chosen its description of him.
\n\u201cSorry for any confusion caused, but needless to say I think that is not really the issue. The issue is Swedish refusal to discuss their social problems and issues,\u201d he added in a statement to the news website Mediaite, explaining his profession as being an independent political adviser.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After Donald Trump\u2019s infamous \u2018what\u2019s happening in Sweden\u2019 comment, Nils Bildt was billed on The O\u2019Reilly Factor as Swedish national security advisor. Swedish military and foreign-affairs officials have said they know nothing about a man who appeared on Fox News in the US billed as a \u201cSwedish defence and national security advisor\u201d. Swedes, and some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13276","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n