Srinagar, July 29: US President Donald Trump reignited his feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan during a press conference in Scotland alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. When asked whether he planned to visit London in September, Trump confirmed, but took the opportunity to criticize Khan, saying, “I’m not a fan of your mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job… a nasty person”.
Starmer, interjecting, responded, “He’s a friend of mine, actually.”
Unfazed, Trump reiterated his criticism: “I think he’s done a terrible job. But I would certainly visit London.”
Asked by a reporter if he intended to come to London in September during a state visit, Trump responded affirmatively but then clarified: “I’m not a fan of your mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job.”
“The Mayor of London… a nasty person,” he added.
The comments prompted Starmer to state: “He’s a friend of mine, actually.”
But doubling down on his view of Khan, Trump went on: “I think he’s done a terrible job. But I would certainly visit London.”
Trump then accused Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when he was first elected in 2016, of doing a “very bad job on terrorism”, calling him a “stone cold loser” and “very dumb”.
In a podcast recorded before Trump’s re-election on November 5, 2024, Khan accused the incoming president of targeting him because of the colour of his skin.
In a statement later Monday, a spokesperson for Khan said the mayor was “delighted that President Trump wants to come to the greatest city in the world”.
Trump and Khan, both known for their sharp exchanges in the past, remain at odds, with Khan—like Starmer—being a member of the Labour Party.
