Sadiq Khan: Trump singled me out 'for no other reason' than being Muslim

9 November 2020, 11:54

By EJ Ward

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has told LBC he was singled out by the now-outgoing US President Donald Trump "for no other reason" than being Muslim

Speaking to LBC's James O'Brien just days after Joe Biden won the race to the White House in the US Presidential Election, the Mayor said

James asked Mr Khan how he felt when Donald Trump attacked him personally putting him under an "astonishingly ugly spotlight."

"Bring a Muslim ain't easy, it isn't easy," Mr Khan said, adding "it's never been harder to be a Muslim than the last four years."

Expanding on what he meant, the Mayor told LBC that the world had "for the first time the leader of the free world, a mainstream politician perpetuating a view that Islam and the West are incompatible."

He went on to say that President Trump had perpetuated a view that "all of us must be bad, or must be terrorist because of the actions of a very small minority."

"Let's be frank, the reason I was singled out was not because of any other reason," he said, "than my faith."

The Mayor of London said this led to Muslims around the world "carrying an additional weight" due to the actions and words of Donald Trump.

He added that many across the globe were not happy with the way Donald Trump treated minorities and people who were different to him.

President Donald Trump is facing pressure to cooperate with president-elect Joe Biden's team to ensure a smooth transfer of power when the new administration takes office in January.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is tasked with formally recognising Mr Biden as president-elect, which begins the transition. But the agency's Trump-appointed administrator, Emily Murphy, has not started the process and has given no guidance on when she will do so.

That lack of clarity is fuelling questions about whether Mr Trump, who has not publicly recognised Mr Biden's victory and has falsely claimed the election was stolen, will impede Democrats as they try to establish a government.