City Bans Donald Trump Because He Is a 'Wasteman'

President Donald Trump reputedly once told British Prime Minister Theresa May there are "no go areas" in London because of Islamic extremists. That wasn't true. But there is now a no-go zone for President Trump in the U.K.—the entire city of Sheffield.

The city's 28-year-old Lord Mayor Magid Magid came to Britain as a refugee from Somalia—one of the "shithole countries" derided by Trump and that formed part of his infamous travel ban. He has now made it clear the president is not welcome in his part of northern England.

President Trump lands in the U.K. for his forthcoming working visit on July 13 after a NATO summit in Brussels, and is to be greeted in London by mass protests. He will have meetings with the prime minister and Queen Elizabeth II, before heading on to Helsinki for a one-on-one meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

"I Magid Magid, Lord Mayor & first citizen of this city hereby declare that not only is Donald J Trump (@realDonaldTrump) a WASTEMAN, but he is also henceforth banned from the great city of Sheffield!" Magid tweeted. "I further declare July 13th to be Mexico Solidarity Day!"

There's just one snag—the role of Lord Mayor is ceremonial and carries no executive power, meaning Magid's ban is purely symbolic. But the Green Party councillor was elected Lord Mayor by his council peers. So he carries the tacit endorsement of the city's other elected representatives.

Speaking to Newsweek, Magid said he's planning a Mexico solidarity event in Sheffield—"a bit of a fiesta"—and will head to London himself for the Stop Trump demonstration on July 13, when the president arrives.

He thinks Britain should never have invited Trump to visit in the first place. "We should still engage with him, by all means. But we shouldn't allow him in the country," Magid said. "Everything he stands for and does is something we completely don't stand for as a country. We need to be a bit bolder."

Magid added: "By putting out a massive red carpet for him, we're legitimizing everything he stands for and that's something we can't tolerate."

Theresa May is "embarrassing the whole country" by "forcing the Queen to shake his small hand," he said.

But it's not just Trump Magid would like to see get this treatment. It's any world leader who doesn't share Britain's values. "It should be a policy across the world. Especially as we pride ourselves to be a progressive country. We stand for human rights and all that. Let's put that into action," he said.

The reaction to Magid's Sheffield-wide ban on Trump has been mostly supportive. "Of course I don't expect everybody to agree with everything I say but the majority of it has been quite positive," he said.

However, some people have hurled racist abuse. "They're not actually constructive or making constructive comments, they're just spouting shit to be honest," he said.

In a follow-up tweet to announcing his ban on Trump, Magid cited "5 reasons (of thousands) Why Donald Trump Is a Wasteman!"

They include Trump's "ridiculous, racist 'Muslim ban'," his withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, "mindlessly moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem," "the imprisonment of children at borders" and "defending the violence and actions of White Supremacists."

Magid also gave a list of five things people can do "to beat Donald Trump," including joining demonstrations against the president, donating to organizations fighting his politics, looking out for those who may be targets of hate crime, showing solidarity with mosques and lobbying the government to speak out against him.

The U.S. embassy in London did not respond to requests for comment.

This article was updated to include Newsweek's interview with Magid.