After U.S. President Donald Trump launched a torrent of abusive messages on Twitter against the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, following the recent attacks, the pressure is building on the U.K. government to cancel Trump’s planned State Visit. In the latest news, Trump has been told to stay away from Birmingham if he does visit the U.K.
Labour candidate for Birmingham speaks out
A state visit to the U.K.
by the U.S. President has been planned for later this year, but according to reports, he will not be welcome in the country. The Birmingham Post reports that Trump may be visiting Birmingham in an effort to avoid protests that are sure to be launched against him in London after his attack on that city’s mayor.
Liam Byrne, the Labour candidate for Birmingham Hodge Hill, said recently that Trump chose a time of loss, pain, and grief to attack the Mayor of London, instead of choosing to support and console the British people over the brutal London attacks.
Byrne went on to say that Birmingham should stand in solidarity with London to tell Trump he is not welcome in their city.
He added that the best thing for Trump to do is to “shut up and stay home.” Other Birmingham politicians are also telling Trump to stay away from their city.
Referring to stories in the U.S. media that referred to Birmingham a "no-go zone," one other Twitter user responded.
Twitter storm by Trump against London mayor
The London Mayor has reportedly called on the U.K. government to cancel Trump’s planned visit after he was mocked by the U.S. president on Twitter. Khan had been attempting to calm Londoners about the need for additional policing in the city following Saturday's attacks on the London Bridge and Borough Market and was telling them there was no reason to be alarmed. However Trump immediately twisted the mayor’s words on Twitter and as reported by Blasting News, used the incident to further push his controversial travel ban.
Khan is London’s first Muslim mayor and has reportedly criticized Trump’s plans to restrict travel from six mostly Muslim countries to the U.S., which may possibly have led to the Twitter attack. A video at the end of this article tells of the history of the Trump/Khan feud.
As reported by the Washington Post, while Trump’s Twitter rampage continued, when asked what it was like to be trolled by the most powerful man in the world, Khan said he didn’t know how to tell the AP interviewer this, but he really doesn’t care.
Khan told the BBC Monday that he had dismissed the U.S. President’s remarks, saying that some people wish to divide their communities and that they thrive on fueling division. Khan added that is not the London he knows, saying Londoners won’t allow anyone, whether it’s Trump or anyone else, to divide their community.