David Lammy shuts down radio caller who questioned if Donald Trump is a racist

From comparing Brexiteer Tories to Nazis and complaining about Donald Trump, David Lammy is no stranger to calling out bigotry and racism when he sees it.

So when one caller on LBC Radio challenged the Labour MP, saying it was "dangerous" to call President Trump a racist, Lammy had a fair share of thoughts.

The caller, identified only as Tim, told the Tottenham MP that he didn't believe the American president was racist and that he has yet to see "evidence" of his racism.

In response to this, Lammy said:

Tim, I don't know if you saw the marches in Charlottesville and if you saw those Neo-Nazis on the street and if you saw a car ram into an individual, killing them.

If you saw that horrible spectre of individuals who were marching with Neo-Nazi signs and in that way in the United States.

And I don't know if you also saw afterwards, the way in which Donald Trump defended those individuals who were communicating that fascism.

He continued, with another example, which was a bit closer to home, saying:

I don't know whether you recall the way he responded after the London Bridge horrible terrorist attack where those horrible knife-wielding maniacs set upon innocent people and the world leaders supported London and Sadiq Khan.

The only individual to spew out venom was Donald Trump, who decided it was appropriate to support a Britain First video that was deeply Islamophobic.

The Labour MP, visibly angrier, continues:

This isn't a joke, this is serious and one could continue but I listen very carefully to what's coming out of the United States.

I was very privileged not so long ago to be amongst the black caucus of congressmen and senators deeply alarmed at the racism and prejudice that is emerging from the White House and Donald Trump.

But Tim doesn't budge, only responding:

Can we stop mixing up Islam with race?

I hate when the media are talking about racism, at least call it bigotry.

It's not racist, it's criticising a religion. 

The caller continues to argue again that it is "dangerous to call the president a racist", as Lammy fires back shouting:

But he is! He Is!

Concluding the discussion with whether or not Trump should be allowed to visit the UK in the summer, Lammy says:

You don't automatically give a President a state visit, you do it if you are communicating something powerful about the nature of his presidency and you want to applaud it!

Trump is expected to visit the UK in June.

HT LBC

More: David Lammy asks why 'black lives still matter less' in the UK in passionate speech to MPs