'Kiss your visa goodbye', Trump supporter tells Uber driver in New York

Video of the incident has surfaced online

A video of a man lashing out at an Uber driver, calling him an “Arab”, a “terrorist” and a “loser” has surfaced online.

“Trump is president. So you can kiss your visa goodbye,” the man is heard saying in the video. “They’ll deport you soon. Don’t worry, you terrorist.”

The video was released by Chris Cody, a St Johns University adjunct professor, who was picked up by the driver just after the incident and narrated the story to Cody, who also speaks Arabic.



Cody told The Washington Post that he found out about the incident after striking up a conversation with the driver, whom he knows only by his first name, Mohammed. He said his driver was surprised to meet an American who said “hello” to him in his language and doesn’t have anything against Muslims. Mohammed started opening up, Cody said.

“Right before I picked you up, I had a horrible incident,” Cody recalled his driver as saying. “What happened?” Cody asked. “Let me show you,” Mohammed said, showing the 40-second clip to his passenger.



Based on Mohammed’s account to Cody, he and the other driver ended up next to each other at a stop light on Crescent Street in New York. The man can be heard cursing after seeing Mohammed, who recorded the incident with his phone.

The man flashed a middle finger as he drove away. Cody, who’s also a doctoral student studying modern world history at St Johns University, said Mohammed told him the attack was unprovoked. “I could tell he was upset,” Cody said. “He didn’t tell me exactly why he decided to take a video. I think he was just so shocked by what happened.”

Cody said Mohammed was initially hesitant, but he persuaded him to send the video so it could be shared on social media. Mohammed, he said, was unsure about reporting the incident to police and does not want his full name to be known.

“There’s definitely some Islamophobic and anti-Muslim sentiment out there right now,” the professor said. “I don’t blame him for being intimidated, especially with the stuff coming out of that guy’s mouth." Mohammed moved from Morocco about six or seven years ago and has been living in New York City since.

The video has gone viral on Facebook. Cody said he sent it to his friend Karim Metwaly, a YouTube actor, who then posted the clip to his Facebook fan page. The video had been viewed more than 6.1 million times and shared about 71,000 times as of Tuesday afternoon.

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New York State Senator Michael Gianari has publicly condemned the action.



“In this community, we pride ourselves on our diversity and tolerance. Hateful rhetoric should not be tolerated in a neighbourhood where all races and different beliefs are welcome,” Gianaris wrote on Facebook on Friday. “More than ever, now is the time to unite and organise. We will stand together against cowardly attacks and show that our values and vision for our country will triumph over hate.”

The Arab-American Family Support Center in New York also has publicly criticised the other driver, saying that “racism and anti-Muslim bigotry are real threats to our community.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2IFoPWvxE0