Sadiq Khan has offered to help Hillary Clinton defeat Donald Trump – pledging his successful campaign as a “template” to hers.
Khan, the new Mayor of London, said he had successfully beaten the Conservatives’ “Donald Trump approach” to elections in last weeks’ vote.
“I think what we’ve shown — and I hope it’s a lesson that Hillary and others in American take on board, hope does ‘trump’ fear, forgive the pun,” he told reporters at the capital’s City Hall, according to the Politico website.
He said he was planning to travel to the US before the end of the year due to the threat of Trump’s proposed policy of banning all Muslims from travelling to the US.
Sadiq Khan’s election has attracted interest from around the world on account of his election as the first Muslim mayor of a major western capital city.
Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee for the Republican presidential candidacy, commented on Khan’s election by saying he would make an exception for him to visit the US.
But Khan rejected the offer. “The idea of making an exception for me because I’m the Mayor of London demonstrates how little they understand,” he said.
Like failed Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith, Trump has been accused of running a “racist” campaign by singling out people for travel bans on account of their faith.
Goldsmith was accused of using “dog whistle” tactics to repeatedly draw attention to Khan’s Muslim faith – as well as attempts to link him with Islamic extremists.
The US presidential election takes place this November, with the primary season all but over and the nominating conventions drawing closer.
The latest head-to-head polls show a fairly close race, with Hilary Clinton holding a slight lead before the start of campaigning-proper.
Both candidates have unusually strong negative ratings with the general public, however.
Khan was elected by 57 points to 43 against Goldsmith on Thursday. He has pledged to freeze public transport fares, fight to reduce housing costs, and make it cheaper for people to commute via multiple bus routes.
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