‘We all knew he was like this:’ Salman Rushdie unsurprised by Trump
TORONTO — As Donald Trump continues to face backlash for blaming “both sides” at a deadly protest in Charlottesville, Va., celebrated author Salman Rushdie says he’s not surprised by the embattled U.S. president’s behaviour.
“If you’ve lived in New York as I now have the last almost 20 years, we in New York, we’ve seen Trump,” Rushdie said in an interview Wednesday for his novel “The Golden House,” which is set against the backdrop of the last eight years of U.S. politics.
“He’s been around, and people in New York got his number a long time ago. Everybody knew who he was, and it’s as if America is now discovering what New Yorkers have known for a long time. So, it’s no surprise Trump would behave like this.”
In a news conference Tuesday, Trump appeared to equate the actions of white supremacist groups and those protesting them.