London’s Sadiq Khan Attacks Trump Coronavirus Travel Ban: ‘Policy on a Whim’

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London’s left-wing Mayor Sadiq Khan was unable to resist indulging his long-running feud with Donald Trump on Thursday, accusing the U.S. President of ignoring evidence and making “policy on the hoof” by closing his country’s borders to most travellers from Europe for 30 days.

Speaking to radio host James O’Brien on London’s LBC on Thursday morning, Mayor Khan was discussing the coronavirus when he was asked whether he could “make any sense” of President Trump’s announcement on Wednesday night that the United States would close its borders with a number of European Union nations for 30 days.

Despite opening by saying “…far be it from me to question the wisdom of what President Trump does”, Mayor Khan ploughed on, saying it was “a bit odd” for the U.S. to block Europeans but not U.S. citizens or Britons from entering the United States.

U.S. citizens returning home to the United States from Friday will be subject to “enhanced” health screening, as presumably will British travellers coming from the UK.

The mayor alleged the fact the U.S. government was to prioritise its capacity to screen and admit its own citizens home again was evidence of President Trump not listening to experts, but making up rules on the spot. He said: “I fear this is another example of policy on a whim, rather than on evidence. It is a bit odd… Donald Trump has been in denial in relation to this; his policy last night is a bit odd. Another example of policy on the hoof rather than based on evidence.”

President Trump extended the travel restriction to the 26 nations within the European Union’s internal free movement zone on Thursday night. The restriction means anyone who travelled to any of the countries part of the scheme 14 days before they were due to travel to the United States for the next 30 days would not be permitted to enter.

The members of the Schengen area include some of the worst impacted coronazone nations, such as Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and Switzerland. They are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

While the United Kingdom was specifically mentioned by name as being exempt from the travel ban, other European nations are also not party to the Schengen area and also escaped the ban, among them are several Balkan states, Ireland, and Romania.

Former Brexit Party MEP Martin Daubney has called out the Schengen area — long known for being a free movement area for criminals and contraband, as well as legitimate travellers — for being a liability during the coronavirus health crisis. He wrote on Thursday: “Ironic that it’s taken the [coronavirus pandemic and] Trump’s Schengen travel ban to underline fact that the EU’s sacred freedom of movement principle has long been a disaster waiting to happen[.]

“Without control, you always have a greater propensity for chaos. Disease, terror, crime…”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has long seen himself as an opponent to U.S. President Trump, frequently using his platform to portray himself as an anti-Trump figure in the United Kingdom. Just last week, the mayor used an International Women’s Day speech to hammer the point home — perhaps part of his campaign to be reelected Mayor in May — saying “unlike Trump, I am a proud feminist”. 

Previous remarks have been sharper, with the mayor calling the President of the United States a “global threat”. President Trump has replied in kind on occasion, calling Khan a “stone cold loser” as well as “dumb and incompetent” in 2019. The President has also referred to Khan’s record on law and order during his time as mayor, which has seen a dramatic rise in knife attacks and killings.

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