London Mayor Sadiq Khan said world leaders are closely watching the U.S. presidential election between former President Trump and Vice President Harris, stressing the global implications of its outcome.
“What I’d say in a respectful way to Americans is: I don’t think you realize that the rest of the world is watching because we’ve got skin in the game,” he said Tuesday in an interview with Politico.
Khan, who has clashed with the former president in the past, compared the U.S. to a metronome, highlighting the significance of the country’s internal politics.
“The metaphor I use is: What happens in America is the metronome for the rest of the country, those who play an instrument, that sets the beat of what happens across the globe,” the mayor said. “It sets the beat for how other politicians behave in election campaign.”
He added that the coverage of the campaigns — including whether or not media outlets fact-check candidates — can also set the tone for coverage globally.
“It sets the beat for how and the rhythm and the speed of how journalists report a campaign and how people respond to lies and misinformation,” Khan said. “And so, you know, everyone’s watching across the globe in relation to whether what JD Vance and Donald Trump said is fact-checked.”
Khan also noted the ideological differences between the policies of the Biden-Harris administration and those of Trump, who seeks a return to the White House. The current administration has promoted international engagement and strengthened U.S. alliances globally, while Trump has been critical of NATO and embraces a more isolationist approach to foreign policy.
“I would argue, hopefully, objectively, that United Nations, NATO, you know, multilateral agreements with the current president is very different to how it was with the previous president, President Trump,” Khan told the outlet.
“And that’s why many of us are watching with keen interest, what happens on November 5 in The USA,” he said.
The Hill has reached out to Trump’s team for comment.
