Jun 2, 2019

London mayor compares Trump to "fascists of the 20th century"

Ursula Perano

London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Photo: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

London Mayor Sadiq Khan compared President Donald Trump to "fascists of the 20th century" in an op-ed in The Observer, a day before Trump is set to arrive in the United Kingdom for a state visit.

"Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. The far right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms and the values that have defined our liberal, democratic societies for more than seventy years. 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."

Why it matters: Trump's visit to the U.K. comes at a moment of major political upheaval, with Prime Minister Theresa May recently resigning over her failure to get a Brexit deal passed. Trump weighed in on the political crisis in a pair of interviews with British newspapers last week, expressing support for Boris Johnson in the upcoming Conservative Party leadership contest and praising Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage — two of the leading figures in the 2016 Brexit campaign.

In his op-ed, Khan — a practicing Muslim and a member of the liberal Labour Party — called out several of Trump's most controversial policies and political stances, including child separation at the southern border and the travel ban.

"No, these are not the actions of European dictators of the 1930s and 40s. Nor the military juntas of the 1970s and 80s. I’m not talking about Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong-un. These are the actions of the leader of our closest ally, the president of the United States of America."

Khan further argued that May, who has not yet left office, should issue a rejection of Trump and the "far-right agenda he embodies."

What to watch: Khan went on to say that he expects Trump's state visit will be one looked back on with "profound regret."

  • Trump will land in London on Monday, where he is expected to be met with mass protests that will include the return of the infamous Trump baby blimp.

Go deeper: Trump's state visit to the U.K. could get awkward

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 665,164 — Total deaths: 30,852 — Total recoveries: 140,225.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 124,665 — Total deaths: 2,191 — Total recoveries: 1,095.
  3. Federal government latest: President Trump announces new travel advisories for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, but rules out quarantine enforcement. Per the CDC, residents of those states must now "refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days," with the exception of critical infrastructure industry workers.
  4. State updates: Alaska is latest state to issue a stay-at-home order — New York is trying to nearly triple its hospital capacity in less than a month and has moved its presidential primary to June 23. Some Midwestern swing voters who backed Trump's handling of the virus less than two weeks ago are balking at his call for the U.S. to be "opened up" by Easter.
  5. World updates: In Spain, over 1,400 people were confirmed dead between Thursday to Saturday.
  6. 🚀 Space updates: OneWeb filed for bankruptcy amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
  7. Hollywood: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have returned to U.S. after being treated for coronavirus.
  8. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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