Welcome to Trump’s America!
A high-ranking Muslim officer in political club Brooklyn Democrats for Change is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and his controversial immigration ban.
Kathy Khatari, the club’s vice president an Irish-Catholic Bay Ridgite who converted to Islam after marrying a Yemeni-American, defended The Donald’s order barring entry to the U.S. from citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries to the New York Times on Jan. 29, saying that she’d “take inconvenience for safety.”
The move could pose a problem for club founder and Democratic district leader Kevin Peter Carroll, who has just announced a run for term-limited Councilman Vincent Gentile’s Bay Ridge seat, according to a neighborhood Democratic operative.
“It’s problematic for that club and I would not be surprised if Kevin wanted to throw his hat in the ring, a campaign would make strong note of the fact that his club has a [vice] president who supports Donald Trump, and I think it would be hung around his neck and be a huge weight around him,” the source said.
But Carroll said the club welcomes different ideologies — even wildly different ones — and Khatari doesn’t speak for him or the club as a whole.
“There’s no litmus test when a person becomes active in our club,” Carroll said. “If you’re talking about the Democratic club as a whole, it was strongly for Hillary Clinton. The proof is in the pudding. Kathy doesn’t speak for Brooklyn Democrats for Change. I should be judged if I run for city council on what I do — not what people in an organization do. I think it’s wrong to equate my run for City Council based on what other people do.”
Club president Amanda Pizzuti is a “vocal proponent of Secretary Hillary Clinton and opposes President Trump’s recent executive orders,” according to club member Seamus Campbell.
Khatari did not respond to requests for comment.
