Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said he could not see how he resembled US president-elect Donald Trump.
After news of Trump’s electoral victory began circulating on the Internet, some netizens dubbed Trump the “American Ko,” in reference to their notoriety for being loose cannons and that they were both elected as political novices.
During a question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Yen sheng-kuan (顏聖冠) asked Ko to comment on the comparison.
“Frankly speaking, I do not see how we are alike. We have different backgrounds and the demographics of our supporters are different,” Ko said.
The make up of Trump’s supporters is different from Ko’s, as most of Trump’s supporters are “Caucasian or older people, or they have lower income,” Ko said earlier in the day in response to media queries about the comparison.
Asked to comment on his and Trump’s penchant for controversial remarks, Ko said: “I assure you that he will make adjustments faster than I did,” citing Trump’s experience in the business sector and his “more functional” team.
Responding to comments that Trump won the election because he “spoke the truth,” as Ko did in the 2014 Taipei mayoral election, Ko said that there could be some similarities between his, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s and Trump’s election.
“It would be an interesting topic for social sciences,” he said.
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