British-Somali Muslim mayor bans 'wasteman' Trump from visiting his city

 

Sheffield's first Somali-born mayor Magid Magid has announced Donald Trump is banned from visiting his city, in a Twitter post declaring the US president a "wasteman".

A suggested definition of the neologism is "a man who acts like a boy, lacking maturity, and gererally wastes his time and life by doing everything to achieve nothing."

The charismatic Lord Mayor, who took up his post in May, quickly came to national attention as the first Somali-born mayor, first Green Party mayor, and at 28, the youngest mayor ever elected to the city.

His unconventional inaugural portrait, squatting atop a staircase at the city's town hall and wearing black Dr Martens boots, became a social media hit.

Now Magid has replicated his signature pose, this time wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan, "Donald Trump is a wasteman" and accessorising with a sombrero and mayoral chains, as he announced 13 July, when the American leader is due to visit the UK, as "Mexico Solidarity Day".

In a second post, he outlined "Five reasons why Donald Trump is a wasteman". Among them were Trump's travel ban affecting mostly Muslim countries, "mindlessly" moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and enforcing the imprisonment of migrant children at the US-Mexico border.

Twitter Post

He then lists five ways to beat Trump, such as joining anti-Trump demonstrations, and showing solidarity with institutes, including mosques, that "suffer most from Trump's politics".

Further tweets showed the outspoken mayor conducting a full council meeting wearing the sombrero.

Speaking to The New Arab following his election, Magid acknowledged his significant new role. 

"In a time where the language of hate and fear is so prominent in the media, it is important to counter it with messages of hope and unity. And if I, as a black Muslim immigrant, can play a role in that, then fantastic," he said.

Prime Minister Theresa May last year became the first foreign leader to visit the White House after Trump's inauguration, where she offered Trump a prestigious state visit to Britain including a meeting with the Queen.

However opposition to the upcoming trip has grown amid Trump's right-wing policies, with protests planned to greet the president in London next Friday.

The capital's own mayor Sadiq Khan isn't a fan of the American leader, either, saying it had been a "mistake" to invite him. 

His call to scrap the visit came following Trump's apparent support for an aggressive far-right anti-Muslim group, after retweeting three anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy head of British neo-fascist group Britain First.

"President Trump...used Twitter to promote a vile, extremist group that exists solely to sow division and hatred in our country," Khan said in a statement in November last year.

"It beggars belief that the President of our closest ally doesn't see that his support for this extremist group actively undermines the values of tolerance and diversity."

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