Sadiq Khan slams ‘abhorrent’ anti-LGBTQ+ views of US presidential hopefuls like Ron DeSantis

Sadiq Khan has slammed US presidential hopefuls like Ron DeSantis for their “abhorrent views” towards the LGBTQ+ community.

The mayor of London launched a scathing attack on some of the politicians bidding for the Republican nomination in 2024 – a list that includes former president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis – during a speech at the PinkNews Westminster Pride Reception on Wednesday (7 June).

Stressing that there remain “big, big challenges” for the LGBTQ+ community in 2023, Khan criticised US politicians who use anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment as a campaigning strategy, while warning that the UK is not immune to similar ‘culture wars’ tactics.

“There are candidates running to be the president of the USA campaigning against [the] rights of the LGBTQ+ community, campaigning to be abhorrent and horrid to the trans community,” said Khan.

“But we mustn’t be lulled into a false sense of security [that] it’s not happening here. You’ve just got to pick up a paper, you’ve just got to watch TV, you’ve just got to go on social media to see some of the images that some politicians are putting out.”

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has signed a string of anti-LGBTQ+ bills into law. (Getty)