Aside from his bromance with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is finding it difficult to get along with foreign dignitaries and even US allies. The self-proclaimed best negotiator in the world is already clashing with British officials before even being elected to office.
Indeed, Trump’s controversial carte blanche Muslim ban has sparked invariable outrage in the UK. The tension reached a fever pitch when London’s Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, was elected to office in early May. Many speculated about whether Khan would be included in Trump’s absurd Muslim ban. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), Trump suggested he would consider “exempting” Khan from the travel ban. The so-called “exemption” was tactless and patronizing to say the least. Oddly enough, Trump appeared to even semi-congratulate Khan on his electoral victory, claiming he was “happy” that the Muslim mayor would be governing London. “If he does a good job and frankly if he does a great job, that would be a terrific thing,” he added.
Almost immediately, Khan rebuffed Trump’s Orientalist olive branch, stating: “This isn’t just about me. It’s about my friends, my family and everyone who comes from a background similar to mine, anywhere in the world.” Adding insult to injury, London’s new mayor then endorsed Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton. “I hope she trounces him,” he told the BBC.
Like clockwork, Trump fired back, issuing a veiled threat to Khan. “I think they were very rude statements and, frankly, tell him I will remember those statements,” Trump told Good Morning Britain’s Piers Morgan on Monday. “They are very nasty statements. I just think it’s very rude of him. In fact it’s the opposite. I wished him well when I heard he won, he’s a Muslim,” adding “I think it’s ignorant of him to say that.”
See below for the full interview:
The mud-slinging didn’t end there, however. After asking Khan to take an IQ test, Trump then foreshadowed strained relations between his administration and British Prime Minister David Cameron, a key US ally. “It looks like we’re not going to have a very good relationship, who knows,” stated Trump. The billionaire businessman appeared to be responding to Cameron’s recent remarks suggesting that the UK does not welcome Trumpian bombast or bigotry. “I think his remarks are divisive, stupid and wrong and I think if he came to visit our country I think it’d unite us all against him,” asserted the prime minister.
While Trump has feigned oblivion after his absurd Muslim ban policy, making vacuous statements such as , “I hope to have a good relationship with him, but it sounds like he’s not willing to address the problem either,” the damage had already been done.
From 10 Downing Street to the halls of parliament, the crass real estate mogul is seen as the personification of every negative American stereotype and caricature — all wrapped up into one loud-mouthed orange man with small hands.
Strongman proclamations are only respected by other strongmen with tyrannical dispositions, namely men like Vladimir Putin. Level-headed Western leaders know better and will likely pull away from the dystopian incarnation of a Trump administration. That’s bad news for a United States that is increasingly dependent on strategic allies to combat the global and metastatic threat of radical Islam.