How do you explain Katie Hopkins to your American friends?
Americans have gone and discovered Katie Hopkins. Looks like we've got some explaining to do
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.US citizens have had the good fortune to have lived their lives relatively oblivious to the controversial Daily Mail columnist and ex-Apprentice contestant Katie Hopkins.
Until yesterday, that is.
Google searches for her name across the pond shot up after Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump tweeted a ‘thank you’ to her in reference to her “powerful” column in the Daily Mail about what he called “the UK’s Muslim problems”.
Although everyone in the UK knows her name, Americans have never needed to take much notice of Katie Hopkins, so on when her name appeared on Trump’s Twitter – which has over 5.2 million followers – they went looking for an explanation.
So how exactly do you explain Katie Hopkins to your bewildered American friends? Is she, as Trump says, a “respected columnist”? Is she just a television personality who we all giggle at, or is she something more harmful?
‘The Daily Beast’ writer Tim Teeman described Hopkins as Donald Trump’s ‘favourite Brit’, and compared her to a ‘low-rent’ version of conservative political commentator Ann Coulter.
Actually, she’s is a lot easier to explain in the context of Trump who, like Hopkins, manages to be both hilarious and terrifying at the same time.
They’re really rather similar, and not just because both of them used became famous by being horrible to people on The Apprentice (though one has to admit, that’s quite the coincidence).
In a lot of ways, Katie Hopkins is just our answer to Donald Trump. They are both prominent public figures whom most of the public seem to spend laughing at. In both cases, however, our incessant laughter is actually of the uncomfortable, nervous variety. Both figures actually have an overwhelming amount of public support.
Most people will outwardly claim to hate Trump and Hopkins, but while he is leading the race to become the Republican leader, people are still reading and watching Hopkins, hanging on to every word she says.
It looks like Katie might be our Trump, because while a lot of us seem to hate her, we have a lot of fun doing it.
Our obsession with listening to what Katie Hopkins has to say on TV, in The Sun and in the Mail is strange but undeniable.
So worry not, American citizens. You won’t struggle to understand Katie Hopkins, you already have one. And he’s in the running to be your president.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments