Tag: sadiq khan
London Mayor Decries UK State Banquet For Trump

London Mayor Decries UK State Banquet For Trump

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is opposed to the United Kingdom hosting Trump for a state visit.

“Of course we should have a close relationship with the president of the United States, but we shouldn’t be rolling out the red carpet, we shouldn’t have a state banquet,” Khan said Friday in an interview with British talk radio station LBC.

Citing Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the only two presidents to make state visits to the U.K., Khan said, “President Trump is not in the same class as those two.”

Trump is scheduled in June for his first state visit to the U.K. since taking over the presidency.

Trump’s visit in July 2018 was downgraded to a mere “working visit,” and he skipped a trip to London and Buckingham Palace.

Reports from early in his presidency indicated that Trump wants a gold-plated carriage to take him to the royal residence. But it is more likely that he will be greeted by an unflattering inflatable blimp in the shape of a crying baby Trump.

The mayor and other officials gave a green light to the blimp during Trump’s last visit, and he was not pleased.

“I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London,” Trump complained to the Sun newspaper last year.

Khan has been an outspoken critic of Trump’s racism, and Trump has used his platform to wage petty feuds on the city official.

After a terrorist attack in London in 2017, Trump repeatedly attacked Khan during one of his frequent Twitter meltdowns. A representative of the mayor dismissed Trump’s ridiculous antics, noting that taking care of London residents was more important than addressing childish taunts.

Trump, unlike other American presidents of either party, is likely to face a cold and hostile reception in the U.K., despite the “special relationship” he claims exists between both countries.

Trump wrecks alliances instead of building them up, and American credibility and dignity loses ground thanks to his actions.

IMAGE: The “Trump baby” balloon taking off in London during the US president’s last visit to the United Kingdom in July 2018.

#EndorseThis: Sadiq Khan Battles Piers Morgan Over London Trump Balloon

#EndorseThis: Sadiq Khan Battles Piers Morgan Over London Trump Balloon

Network producer Terry O’ Neill once called TV anchors “800 pound gorillas.” The anchor is the one element of a hit show that is not replaceable, giving him or her almost unlimited power over executives and fellow employees. Sometimes, anchors will rant at their underlings (see Lawrence O’ Donnell or Bill O’ Reilly) or demand that an immediate firing take place.

And sometimes, they simply will not shut up.

In today’s clip, conservative talk-show host Piers Morgan and London mayor Sadiq Khan engage in a spirited discussion about the Trump “baby blimp” protest scheduled to coincide with 45’s visit to the UK. The pair touch on whether a “baby Obama” blimp would have been permitted to fly, the limits of political speech, and whether allies are held to a higher standard than enemies. All fair questions. But in an attempt to harangue, Morgan babbles like he himself is the infantile gas bag, and allows Khan almost no room to speak or defend his decision-making.

The mayor decides he’s had enough at the 3:50 mark.

Click for the wrath of Khan.

London’s Mayor An Exception To Proposed Ban On Muslims: Trump

London’s Mayor An Exception To Proposed Ban On Muslims: Trump

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, suggested he would make an exception for London’s newly elected Muslim mayor, the New York Times reported.

However, Sadiq Khan who was sworn in as mayor of the British capital on Saturday, dismissed Trump’s response, saying the real estate billionaire and presumptive Republican nominee had an “ignorant view of Islam”.

“There will always be exceptions,” the Times on Monday quoted Trump as saying when asked how his controversial proposal would apply to Khan, the son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver and a seamstress.

Trump said he was happy to see Khan elected, the Times reported, adding: “You lead by example, always lead by example. If he does a good job … that would be a terrific thing.”

Trump put forth the idea of the ban after deadly attacks by Islamist militants in Paris and California last year. Muslim and human rights groups, Trump’s Democratic rivals and many of his Republican presidential opponents condemned the proposal as divisive, counter-productive and contrary to American values.

Khan said Trump’s view risked alienating mainstream Muslims and played into the hands of extremists, making both Britain and the United States less secure.

“This isn’t just about me – it’s about my friends, my family and everyone who comes from a background similar to mine, anywhere in the world,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Donald Trump and those around him think that Western liberal values are incompatible with mainstream Islam – London has proved him wrong.”

Khan, 45, a candidate from the opposition Labour Party, defeated his Conservative rival by a record margin last week to secure the biggest individual mandate in British political history after an acrimonious campaign.

After his victory, he accused his opponents of using fear and innuendo about his alleged links to extremists to turn ethnic and religious groups against each other, which he described as “something straight out of the Donald Trump playbook”.

In an interview with Time magazine, Khan said he wanted to go to the United States to see the interesting programmes the mayors of New York and Chicago were implementing, but that he would have to visit before January in case Trump won the Nov. 8 election.

 

Reporting by Mohammad Zargham and Michael Holden in London; Editing by Peter Cooney, Guy Faulconbridge and Pravin Char

Photo: Britain’s newly elected mayor Sadiq Khan speaks to supporters as he arrives for his first day at work at City Hall in London, Britain May 9, 2016. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo