Mayor of London Boris Johnson slams Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and says the only reason he wouldn’t go to New York is the risk of “meeting Trump”
Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump has been slated across the political spectrum – and globe – for his comments on the need to ban all Muslims entering the United States and safety of Paris and London, but has been slammed by none more than London's mayor Boris Johnson.
Responding to Trump's statement that he wouldn't come to London due to the threat of terror, Johnson said that Trump's ill-informed comments are complete and utter nonsense.
He added: "As a city where more than 300 languages are spoken, London has a proud history of tolerance and diversity and to suggest that there are areas where police officers cannot go because of radicalisation is simply ridiculous."
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"Crime has been falling steadily both in London and in New York – and the only reason I wouldn't go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump," the mayor added.
Johnson's retort comes after Trump doubled-down and said that Paris is no longer the safe city it was.
"They have sections in Paris that are radicalised, where the police refuse to go there. They’re petrified. The police refuse to go in there,” Trump said, while failing to actually name specific areas in the city. “We have places in London and other places that are so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives. We have to be very smart and very vigilant.”
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Even Prime Minister David Cameron has not been able to resist criticising Trump for his comments, saying Trump's comments are "divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong".
Yet, with Trump still leading heavily in the polls, and a series of high profile controversial comments behind him, it remains to be seen if this time he's taken it one step too far.