After the unwise decision of Combover Crybaby Donald Trump to endorse pro-am motormouth Katie Hopkins as a means of laying into London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and suggesting that the city has an exceptionally bad crime problem, came the pushback. Many reminded Trump that in Washington DC, you are more likely to be murdered specifically with a knife than in London. And don’t even mention gun crime.
The Donald was totally out of order, and more worryingly, he was taking as reliable the kind of bigotry that Ms Hopkins, and those at the Daily Caller, choose to put out there. London is a far safer place than many US cities, including New York City. It’s even safer than supposedly peaceful San José and San Diego. And no city in the UK gets anywhere near the murder rate of Baltimore, Detroit or New Orleans.
Moreover, Trump sticking his bugle in on other countries’ affairs is totally out of order. So it might have been hoped that his blundering would attract pushback from across the political spectrum. It hasn’t happened. The Blue Team hasn’t raised a finger in admonishment after Trump quote-Tweeted Ms Hopkins (which was bad enough) and used the blatantly racist term “Londonistan”. So why not?
Ah well. Here we re-encounter the Tory problem with people who are Not White. After Sajid Javid - a senior Tory MP and cabinet minister - expressed disquiet that he alone from the cabinet had not been invited to the ceremonial dinner held in Trump’s honour at Buckingham Palace, there was no murmur from his colleagues, either.
Who would have said no to Saj? Pound to a penny that veto came from the US embassy, and that the word was given after consultation with the White House. Trump’s a racist bigot, but the Tories are riven by Islamophobia and so did nothing, even though Javid has previously said that he does not “practice any religion”.
So when Miqdaad Versi of the Muslim Council of Britain looked to see which Tory MPs had defended Sadiq Khan, he was clearly disappointed to find that there were none. “Seems like not a single Conservative MP* (/gvt/potential PM candidates) has spoken out after the Trump quote-tweeting Katie Hopkins using the Islamophobic term ‘Londonistan’ & attacking Sadiq Khan. Many say I should expect this. Yet I am so hurt & disappointed”.
Tell MAMA also registered its dissatisfaction, asking “How many of our politicians are going to stand up & be counted on what Trump has just done & amplified? How long are British Muslims going to be viewed as 'second class' citizens by some in power, like Trump. His actions today, show exactly what he thinks of British Muslims”.
Well, Labour MPs are rallying round. The test for other parties is whether they are prepared to defend London’s Mayor. But don’t expect a peep from the Tories. Because they have a problem with Muslims. That’s why the members won’t elect Javid leader, why Brandon Lewis won’t lift a finger to stop the racists in his own party, and why they had no problem running a viciously racist campaign against Sadiq Khan in 2016.
Trump has - inadvertently - done us a great service. He’s shown us not just that he’s a racist, but that the Tories have no problem with racism either. It’s still the Nasty Party.
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4 comments:
Thanks to Sadiq's bus cuts I can no longer catch a bus from Kings Cross to Waterloo and the other Wednesday had to walk home from Kempton Park when his reduced service 290 was cancelled. Looks like I'll have to use Uber from now on! Keeps his boys in a job . .. ...
Anonymous,
Yes, Khan personally intervened to shorten the 59.
You can do the 10 minute walk down to Euston you know.
And now Jeremy "Warwick" Hunt joins the dogpile.
Agreeing 150% with Trump's tweet based on Hopkins' opinions.
Londonistan eh Jeremy: Hardly original, hardly seenly for a potential Prime Minister.
Anons 01:36 and 11:39
Thanks, both of you.
This is dynamite !!!
Does Trump know?
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