Sadiq Khan, who was elected on Friday as London’s first Muslim mayor, says that he won’t be able to visit the United States if Donald Trump becomes president.
“I want to go to America to meet with and engage with American mayors,” Khan told Time magazine. “If Donald Trump becomes the president, I’ll be stopped from going there by virtue of my faith.”
Presumptive GOP nominee Trump has suggested a polarizing position regarding Muslims, in which they would be banned from America until “our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” Back in December, Trump called for “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” because “there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population.”
“Clearly [I’ll visit] before January in case Donald Trump wins,” Khan said. “I’m confident that Donald Trump’s approach to politics won’t win in America.” He added that Trump’s strategy of turning “communities against each other is not conducive to living successfully and amicably.”
Khan mentioned New York mayor Bill de Blasio and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel as people he’d be interested in meeting.