Editing Salman Rushdie (section)

====US politics====
[[File:Bernie Sanders and Salman Rushdie.jpg|thumb|left|Rushdie and [[Bernie Sanders]] in 2004]]
Rushdie supported the [[1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]], leading historian [[Tariq Ali]] to label Rushdie part of what he considered to be "warrior writers" as "the belligerati".<ref>[[Michael Mandel (law professor)|Mandel, Michael]]. 2004. ''How America Gets Away With Murder''. [[Pluto Press]]. p. 60.</ref> He was supportive of the US-led campaign to remove the [[Taliban]] in Afghanistan, which began in 2001 but was a vocal critic of the 2003 [[Iraq War|war in Iraq]]. He stated that while there was a "case to be made for the removal of [[Saddam Hussein]]", US [[unilateral]] military intervention was unjustifiable.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/09/iraq.usa |title=Letters, Salman Rushdie: No fondness for the Pentagon's politics &#124; World news |newspaper=The Guardian |date=9 July 2007 |access-date=13 March 2010 |location=London |archive-date=31 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831182058/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/09/iraq.usa |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Terry Eagleton]], a former admirer of Rushdie's work and [[Marxist literary critic]], criticized him, saying he "cheered on [[the Pentagon]]'s criminal ventures in Iraq and Afghanistan."<ref>{{cite web|title=The ageing punk of lit crit still knows how to spit&nbsp;– Times Online|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2603984.ece|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512090519/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2603984.ece|archive-date=12 May 2008|access-date=30 July 2008}}</ref> Eagleton subsequently apologized for having misrepresented Rushdie's views.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Terry Eagleton|author2=Michael Kustow|author3=Matthew Wright|author4=Neil Morris|date=12 July 2007|title=Letters: Writers challenging so-called civilisation|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jul/12/comment.letters|access-date=20 June 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|publisher=[[Scott Trust Limited]]|archive-date=21 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621032429/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jul/12/comment.letters|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rushdie supported the election of [[Barack Obama]] for the US presidency and has often criticized the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]. He was involved in the [[Occupy Movement]], both as a presence at [[Occupy Boston]] and as a founding member of Occupy Writers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=OccupyWriters.com|url=http://occupywriters.com/|access-date=14 August 2022|website=occupywriters.com|archive-date=14 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814195835/http://occupywriters.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> Rushdie is a supporter of [[gun control]], blaming [[2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting|a shooting at a Colorado cinema]] in July 2012 on the [[American right to keep and bear arms]].<ref>{{cite journal|date=21 July 2012|title=Salman Rushdie stirs up frenzy with tweets in response to Colorado multiplex shooting &#124; New York Daily News|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/pageviews/2012/07/salman-rushdie-stirs-up-frenzy-with-tweets-in-response-to-colorado-multiplex-shoot|journal=Daily News|location=New York|access-date=11 November 2012|archive-date=4 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904120946/http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/pageviews/2012/07/salman-rushdie-stirs-up-frenzy-with-tweets-in-response-to-colorado-multiplex-shoot|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Cheney|first=Alexandra|date=20 July 2012|title=Salman Rushdie Sparks Furor With Colorado Theater Shooting Tweets – Speakeasy|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/07/20/salman-rushdie-sparks-furor-with-colorado-shooting-tweets/|journal=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=11 November 2012|archive-date=17 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017022642/http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/07/20/salman-rushdie-sparks-furor-with-colorado-shooting-tweets/|url-status=live}}</ref> He acquired [[American citizenship]] in 2016 and voted for [[Hillary Clinton]] in [[2016 United States presidential election|that year's election]].<ref>{{cite news|date=8 September 2017|title=Salman Rushdie Plays the Trump Card|first=Sarah |last=Begley|magazine=Time|url=https://time.com/magazine/south-pacific/4941231/september-25th-2017-vol-190-no-12-asia-south-pacific/|access-date=27 February 2019|archive-date=26 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226153207/http://time.com/magazine/south-pacific/4941231/september-25th-2017-vol-190-no-12-asia-south-pacific/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=9 February 2017|title=Salman Rushdie's new book features a 'narcissistic, media-savvy villain' with colored hair|first=Thu-Huong|last= Ha|work=Quartz|url=https://qz.com/905928/salman-rushdies-new-book-the-golden-house-features-a-narcissistic-media-savvy-villain-with-colored-hair/|access-date=27 February 2019|archive-date=28 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228065820/https://qz.com/905928/salman-rushdies-new-book-the-golden-house-features-a-narcissistic-media-savvy-villain-with-colored-hair/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Noting the rise of "populist authoritarian demagoguery" around the world, Rushdie said there was "a willingness amongst at least some part of the [US] population to cease to value the democratic values enshrined in the [[first amendment]]. So I think the problem is, I would now say, political more than primarily religious".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gabbatt |first=Adam |date=2023-09-14 |title='We're facing another old enemy': Rushdie warns against global authoritarianism |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/13/were-facing-another-old-enemy-rushdie-warns-against-global-authoritarianism |access-date=2023-10-29 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=29 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029120914/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/13/were-facing-another-old-enemy-rushdie-warns-against-global-authoritarianism |url-status=live }}</ref>