American talk-show host and self-proclaimed psychic Chelsea Handler has slammed the UK Independence Party as the “KKK of England,” repeating the accusation twice in Twitter rants.
The dig came in response to President-Elect Donald J. Trump’s suggestion that the party’s interim leader, Nigel Farage, become the British ambassador to the USA.
Trump made the suggestion on his Twitter account, unprompted, on Monday night, saying, “Many people would like to see @Nigel_Farage represent Great Britain as their Ambassador to the United States. He would do a great job!”
But Handler, an avowed Clinton supporter who has blamed her candidate’s loss on sexism, and who cried live on her show when Trump was elected, was not one of those people.
In response she tweeted that Farage was the leader of “what is the equivalent to the kkk in England,” asking Trump “Do you do any homework at all?”
@realDonaldTrump @Nigel_Farage is essentially running what is the equivalent to the kkk in England. Do you do any homework at all?
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) November 22, 2016
Six hours later she returned to the social network platform to repeat the accusation, saying: “@Nigel_Farage is running what is essentially England’s version of the kkk and this is who @realDonaldTrump is applauding as a good man?”
@Nigel_Farage is running what is essentially England’s version of the kkk and this is who @realDonaldTrump is applauding as a good man?
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) November 22, 2016
The suggestion that England has an equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) at all is historically illiterate as the American-style state-sanctioned segregation, and the movement which supported it, has no British equivalence.
Moreover, UKIP has recently seen both a British Asian candidate and a mixed race candidate take lead positions in a convoluted leadership election to decide Farage’s successor.
Rather, Handler’s slur is part of a wider tactic of painting Trump and his supporters as racists and Nazis.
On Sunday, veteran rock trio Green Day broke into a chant of, “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” while performing at the American Music Awards, while Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson responded to Trump’s recent criticism of the programme by firing off “F*ck you b*tch” on social media.
For his part, Farage has welcomed Trump’s suggestion that he act as a liaison between the UK and U.S. administrations. Writing for Breitbart London, Farage said he would “do anything to help our national interest and to help cement ties” with the Trump administration.
“The world has changed,” he said. “And people need to face up to this.”
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