London mayor Sadiq Khan has said Donald Trump should not be granted a state visit in Britain, branding him part of the “global threat” of a rising “far right” — and accusing Nigel Farage and national populist leaders like Italy’s Matteo Salvini and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán of emulating “20th-century fascists”.
The Labour politician accused Mr Trump of using “xenophobia, racism and ‘otherness’ as an electoral tactic”, “Introducing a travel ban to a number of predominately Muslim countries”, and “Lying deliberately and repeatedly to the public”, among a host of other allegations, comparing the American leader’s actions to “the actions of European dictators of the 1930s and 40s… the military juntas of the 1970s and 80s… Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong-un” in an article for the left-liberal Observer.
“Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat,” declared Khan, who has repeatedly attacked the U.S. President for his tough stances on border security and Islamist terrorism.
“The far right is on the rise around the world… Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Matteo Salvini in Italy, Marine Le Pen in France and Nigel Farage here in the UK are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support,” he claimed, warning that they are “using new sinister methods to deliver their message” (while avoiding specifics on what these methods might be).
Khan, who once fought for the Nation of Islam’s racist, anti-Semitic leader Louis Farrakhan to be admitted to Britain, declared it was “un-British to be rolling out the red carpet this week for a formal state visit” for the U.S. President, who he claimed did not represent America’s values of “equality, liberty, and religious freedom.”
“[A]t what point should we stop appeasing – and implicitly condoning – his far-right policies and views? Where do we draw the line?” Khan demanded.
“Rather than bestowing Trump with a grand platform of acceptability to the world, we should be speaking out and saying that this behaviour is unacceptable – and that it poses a grave threat to the values and principles we have fought hard to defend – often together – for decades,” the anti-Brexit politician insisted.
President Trump has not been shy about firing back at Khan in the past, taking him to task for claiming that there was “no reason to be alarmed” after a radical Islamic terrorist attack centred on London Bridge and Borough Market which involved a vehicle attack and several rampaging knifemen.
“At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!'” the President tweeted incredulously.
“We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don’t get smart it will only get worse,” he added.
Terror attacks and violent crime, particularly knife crime, have risen precipitously in Britain’s hyper-diverse capital during Khan’s mayoralty — driven in part by his pre-election pledge to “do all in my power” to cut the use of police stop-and-search, which he regarded as implicitly racist — and Mr Trump has not hidden his belief that the Labour politician has done “a terrible job”.
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