Former President Donald Trump declared that London and Paris have become “unrecognisable” after the cities “opened their doors to jihad.”
Speaking at a Wisconsin rally on Wednesday, Trump criticised European immigration policies and promised he would not allow the same in the United States if he wins the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
“We’ve seen what happened when Europe opened their doors to jihad. Look at Paris. Look at London. They’re no longer recognisable,” Trump said. “And I’m going to get myself into a lot of trouble with the folks in Paris and the folks in London. But you know what? That’s the fact. They are no longer recognisable.”
He continued: “And we can’t let that happen to our country. We have incredible culture, tradition… Nothing wrong with their culture, their tradition. We can’t let that happen here, and I’ll never let it happen to the United States of America.”
Trump’s rhetoric is a repeat of talking points he used on the 2016 presidential campaign trail when he said that Londoners had become “so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives.”
The comments, however, came just one day before of London’s mayoral election on Thursday, the run up to which has seen mayor Sadiq Khan face down a firestorm of extreme accusations.
In February, former Tory deputy chair Lee Anderson said Khan was under the influence of “Islamists” and urged Londoners to “vote him out.” Remarks he was subsequently suspended for by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and defected to Reform UK.
Meanwhile Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall has repeatedly claimed that under Khan violent crime in the city has increased and Londoners were “under siege.”
Despite the more exploitative attempts at political points-scoring, data analysed by the Guardian paints a more nuanced picture – finding that an individual is statistically less likely to fall victim to crime in London than in the rest of the country. The city has one of lowest rates of antisocial behaviour and a falling murder rate.
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