Friday, May 13, 2016

Trump questions Mayor Hidalgo's heritage; vows to ban French people, food



AROUND THE BLOCK

News with a Twist

Paris Mayor calls Donald Trump, stupid

Joins other foreign notables in “Stop Trump” movement



In a first-time meeting with newly elected London mayor, Sadiq Khan, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said of presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, “Mr. Trump is stupid. He’s very stupid. My God.”

Ms. Hidalgo’s remarks were prompted by Trump’s plan, if elected president, to ban all foreign Muslims from entering the United States.

While it is true that Trump said he would grant an exception to the ban to Khan, who is Muslim, that wasn’t good enough for Mr. Khan who called Mr. Trump “ignorant,” going on to say, “This isn’t just about me. It’s about my friends, my family and everyone who comes from a background similar to mine, anywhere in the world. I hope [Hillary Clinton] trounces him.”

Ms. Hidalgo and Mr. Khan join a long list of foreign notables who have publicly expressed horror at the idea of a Trump presidency including: 

  • British Prime Minister David Cameron, who called Trump’s anti-Muslim comments “divisive, stupid and wrong,” going on to say, “I think if he came to visit our country, he’d unite us all against him.”
  • Former Mexican President Vicente Fox, who called Trump a “hated gringo” and “ugly American,” and said “I’m not going to pay for that fucking wall.”
  • Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s economy minister and vice chancellor, who said that Trump is “not only a threat to peace and social cohesion, but also to economic development.”

 While Trump has characteristically responded to most foreign criticism by calling his critics “stupid” or “losers” or “afraid of America becoming great again” Ms. Hidalgo’s comments seemed to hit a special chord with the candidate.

“Anne Hidalgo is an ugly frog who doesn’t deserve to be mayor of Paris. I mean ‘Hidalgo?’ What kind of French name is that? I hear that she really is a Mexican who entered France illegally and I have my people looking into her birth certificate to confirm this.”

Trump went on to say, “I have called Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s right-wing party, who, by the way, I am supporting for president of France, and told her that she should do whatever she can – rumors, lies, innuendo to take this Hidalgo person down. In other words, start campaigning like me.”

Trump also told Le Pen that she should go to work immediately with plans to build a wall around all France's borders and offered the services of the Trump Organization to construct the wall.

"I will build a beautiful border wall for France. It will be huge, maybe 30 feet high. And I will show Ms. Le Pen how to get Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Spain to pay for it." 

Trump went on to say, that there would be no wall between France and Monaco because, "I'm building the Trump Monte Carlo Casino there and I want to make sure there are no impediments to the free-flow of gamblers."

For her part, Le Pen, considered by many to be the most right-wing, xenophobic politico in Europe rejected Trump and any comparison to him. 

"Seriously, have you ever heard me say something like that? I defend all the French people in France, regardless of their origin, regardless of their religion."

In a further announcement, Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson told reporters that when Mr. Trump is elected president, “he will reinstitute the renaming of French fries to ‘freedom fries,’ eliminate all French food from the White House menu (except Croque Monsieur, a favorite of Trump’s wife, Melania) and extend the ban of foreigners entering the U.S. to include not only Muslims but all French people and (Canadian prime minister) Justin Trudeau."



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