Donald Trump supporters brought guillotine to one of my speeches, says Sadiq Khan

Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in London
REUTERS
Ross Lydall @RossLydall25 January 2021

Donald Trump supporters once brought a guillotine to a speech being given by Sadiq Khan, the London mayor has said, as he described himself as “clickbait” for far-right groups. 

Mr Khan said the former US president’s online and verbal attacks on him had encouraged extremist groups to mobilise against him in the UK, causing him to fear for his safety and that of his family.

“I’m the first mayor ever to have police protection. You know what that entails,” he told Tony Blair’s former Downing Street communications chief Alastair Campbell in an interview for GQ.

“The thing that I find most upsetting is that there were times over the last five years when I've been genuinely scared about my personal safety and my family’s.”

The guillotine incident happened when Mr Khan was addressing a Fabian Society meeting in central London in January 2018.

The protest lasted about 20 minutes until police escorted members of a group called the White Pendragons from the hall.

“I remember going to deliver a Fabian speech – this is the Fabians; you know what they think about violence – where Trump supporters turned up with a guillotine. With a guillotine!” Mr Khan said.

“That is the consequence of Trump being elected president and not being called out. Not only do we have copycat leaders all around the world, from Hungary to Brazil to the Philippines and the rest of it, but you've got a normalisation of some of his values.

“People who were on the periphery are now in the mainstream. That's why it's really important that a coalition of decent people call out those values.”

Referring to “bullies”, Mr Khan added: “One of the things about bullies is that they all have thin skins, actually. They're actually quite weak.

“The thing with Trump is, I called him out. There was one ridiculous time when he challenged me to an IQ test, Alastair. The president of the United States of America challenged me to an IQ test. What's next, an arm wrestle?”

The Mayor said he believed he was singled out because his is a Muslim. He said: “We've got far-right groups in this country who are using clickbait. I'm really good clickbait. I'm Labour, I'm a Muslim, I'm of Pakistani origin, I'm of Asian heritage and all the rest of it. I’m good clickbait for them to get supporters.”

In the interview, which Mr Khan requested to talk about mental health, he said he was “fine” but added: “There have been many, many days, including the recent past, when I've not been great.”

He said this was often spotted first by his wife, Saadiya – that he had become “melancholy, not communicative”.

Mr Khan said: “I am very good at giving the impression of being good. I thrive on adrenaline; I thrive on people. Conversations on the Tube I love. Team meetings, bouncing ideas, I love. I’m hyper. All that being gone means I've been quite deflated. So when I'm not doing public-facing stuff I won't shave. 

“Wearing jogging bottoms is another. If I'm wearing trousers during the lockdown it’s a good sign.

“One of the reasons why I was really struggling last March, April, May was that sense of helplessness. Not being invited to Cobra [Cabinet meetings], having no say over lockdown, test, trace, isolate, the ventilators not working. I'm a mayor and I can't help.”

He said he believed the next General Election was “absolutely winnable” for Labour. The London mayoral elections are due to be held in May, after a year’s postponement. Asked if he was confident, he said: “I'm never complacent. My focus is the pandemic. The election will be in May and I'll work my socks off to win it.”

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