Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has given his full backing for Hillary Clinton’s bid to become US President, declaring she would be a “feminist” role model for the world.
Khan said that Bernie Sanders’ CV couldn’t compare to that of Clinton and hinted that the Vermont senator would struggle to win the broad base of support needed to clinch a general election.
In an exclusive interview with HuffPost UK, the first ever Muslim Mayor of a European Union capital city said that having a woman running the White House would inspire his teenage daughters and others around the globe.
“What I admire about Hillary Clinton is not simply her gravitas, her experience in the job she did as Secretary of State in Obama’s term one, the experience she’s got as a Senator,” Khan said.
“But also I’m the father of two daughters, I’m a proud feminist here in City Hall.
“Imagine the message it sends to my two daughters, who are 16 and 14 to see arguably the most powerful person in the world is a woman.
“The President of the United States of America being a woman: that will give my daughters, and other girls around the world, the understanding that if you work hard you can achieve anything - whatever country you are in...it’s really important.”
Khan, who was elected on May 5 with the biggest direct mandate of any British politician in history, has clashed with Donald Trump over his proposed ban on Muslims from travelling to the US.
Trump said he would make ‘exceptions’ to his travel ban for people like the new Mayor, but Khan rebuffed the offer, instead suggesting that the billionaire visit London to see first hand how Muslims shared Western values.
Within hours of Khan’s election, Clinton tweeted her congratulations, sensing more trouble for Trump overseas.
Khan said that Sanders had “some very interesting ideas”, but signalled that he lacked the ability to pitch beyond his core vote.
“I don’t know enough about American politics, but from what I’ve read about the selection, my concern about any candidate where he or she wins their selection, the question is ‘can you then win the election?’
"Because obviously there’s a different electoral base for a selection versus an election.
“He’s got some very interesting ideas. But if you compare his CV to Hillary Clinton’s, I think there’s only one winner.”
Khan has warned Jeremy Corbyn, whom many compare to Sanders in the UK, for having too narrow a base of support to win a UK general election.