The First Muslim Mayor Of London Just Owned Trump With A Single Tweet

On Saturday, Sadiq Khan was declared the new mayor of London. He is the first Muslim to lead the city in its long and storied history.

This development proves tricky for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who in the wake of the San Bernardino attacks called for banning all Muslims from entering the United States.

It would be wrong, and not to mention extremely awkward diplomatically, to ban the mayor of the capital of America's closest ally in the world from visiting the US.

This probably helps explain why Trump just told The New York Times Sadiq Khan would be an "exception" to his proposed Muslim ban. Trump said,

There will always be exceptions.

The real estate mogul also stated he was "happy" to see Khan elected, and he hopes Khan does a "good job," because "you lead by example" and "that would be a terrific thing."

But Mayor Khan has no interest in receiving special treatment. It seems he'd prefer it if Trump simply exhibited tolerance for a religion with 1.6 billion followers, the vast majority of whom are peaceful.

In a single tweet, Sadiq Khan skewered Trump and his rhetoric surrounding Islam.

Khan made a very strong point here in terms of how Trump's remarks, and Islamophobia more generally, place us all at risk.

The notion the West is at war with Islam is central to the recruiting efforts of terror organizations like ISIS. When Western leaders propose things like barring Muslims from entering their countries, it helps reinforce this narrative.

In other words, one of our greatest weapons against terror is solidarity, and London just set a strong example for the world in that regard by electing Sadiq Khan.

Mr. Trump should take notes.

We defeat terrorism not by giving into fear, but by rising above it.

Citations: Donald Trump Says Sadiq Khan, New London Mayor, Could Be Exception to His Muslim Ban (The New York Times)