It is safe to say the US President and London’s mayor don’t exactly see eye to eye
The world of politics goes hand-in-hand with fallouts, but in London there is none more public than the fiery spat between US President Donald Trump and Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan. The leaders have engaged in a very well publicised feud for almost a decade, and things don’t seem to be cooling down anytime soon.
Mr Trump arrived at Stansted Airport yesterday ahead of his unprecedented second state visit. Kicking off later today, the controversial figure will be feted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle, before meeting with Keir Starmer at Chequers.
Though previously stating he’d “certainly” visit the capital, it has since been confirmed there are no activities planned as part of the two-day schedule. Many Londoners will have sighed with relief at this news – though a Stop Trump protest is still going ahead in Zone 1 later today.
Over the years, Trump has had much to say about our fine city, including scathing comments about our knife crime and immigration policies. A majority of his criticism has been directed at the man in charge, with Trump most recently calling Khan a “nasty person” who’s “done a terrible job”.
But where did this war of words all begin?
Trump challenges Khan to an IQ test
The feud between Trump and Mr Khan dates back to May 2016. Trump, then just a businessman, was about to gain the Republican nomination for that year’s election, while the latter had just beaten Zac Goldsmith to his first London Mayoral victory.
Mr Khan was the first to draw blood, questioning Trump’s “ignorant” suggestion to ban Muslims from entering the US. Appearing on Good Morning Britain, he responded by challenging Mr Khan to take an IQ test.
Trump accuses Khan of ‘pathetic behaviour’ after terror attack
Tempers flared again in June 2017 following a terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market. Radical Islamist terrorists killed eight people and injured 48 more in a string of horrific attacks in the busy Central London location.
The following day Mr Khan moved to reassure Londoners as he said there was no reason to be alarmed by an increase police presence on the streets. Trump responded on X: “At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed’!”
He followed this up with another tweet the next day, saying: “Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his ‘no reason to be alarmed’ statement. MSM [mainstream media] is working hard to sell it!”
Trump says London hospital is like a ‘war zone’ due to knife crime
In May 2018 Trump claimed a Central London hospital had become “a war zone” due to knife crime, with “blood all over the floors”. Speaking at a National Rife Association convention in Dallas, he made the remarks to defend the rights of gun ownership.
“I recently read a story that in London, which has unbelievably tough gun laws, a once very prestigious hospital, right in the middle, is like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds,” he said. “Yes, that’s right, they don’t have guns, they have knives and instead there’s blood all over the floors of this hospital. They say it’s as bad as a military war zone hospital.”
He added: “London hasn’t been used to that. They’re getting used to it. Pretty tough. We’re here today because we recognise a simple fact: the one thing that has always stood between the American people and the elimination of our second amendment rights has been conservatives in Congress willing to fight for those rights. We’re fighting.”
The Guardian reported that it was not immediately clear which article Trump had read. It could have been a MailOnline story with the headline “Surgeon says he is regularly treating children in school uniform for gun and knife wounds in London hospital which is ‘like Afghan war zone’.”
It quotes a BBC interview with Martin Griffiths, a lead trauma surgeon at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, who said a record 702 stabbing victims were treated in 2017, and said colleagues who served in the military likened it to their work at Camp Bastion – a British base used during the War in Afghanistan.
Trump calls Khan a ‘stone cold loser’
The most famous event of the pair’s war of words came during the summer of 2019. Just before landing at Stansted for a state visit, Trump didn’t waste a second going after the Mayor of London.
He wrote on X: “Sadiq Khan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly ‘nasty’ to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me.
“Kahn [sic] reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job – only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now.”
Mr Khan responded opting for a more tame approach. A spokesperson said: “This is much more serious than childish insults which should be beneath the president of the United States. Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of growing far right threat around the globe.”
Trump claims immigration has left London ‘unrecognisable’
Donald Trump claimed immigration left London “unrecognisable”, and that Europe in general has ‘welcomed jihad’. He made these comments in May of last year during a campaign rally in Wisconsin where he spoke to supporters about reducing their intake.
Mr Trump said: “We’ve seen what happened when Europe opened its doors to jihad. Look at Paris, look at London, they’re no longer recognisable.
“I’m going to get myself into a lot of trouble with the folks in Paris and the folks in London, but you know what, that’s the fact. They are no longer recognisable and we can’t let that happen to our country.”
Trump dubs Khan a nasty person
The clash is still going strong in 2025, with Trump swerving London almost entirely during his ongoing state visit – bar a stay America’s unofficial party house in Regent’s Park. During a July stop off at a Trump golf resort in Turnberry, South Ayrshire, the President was asked by a journalist if he plans to visit London during this trip.
He replied: “I’m not a fan of your mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job, the mayor of London… a nasty person.”, before adding he would “certainly” visit London.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer intervened, saying: “He’s a friend of mine, actually.” In response, a mayoral spokesperson said Mr Khan was “delighted that President Trump wants to come to the greatest city in the world”.
Khan accuses Donald Trump of ‘using London as political football’
Last month, Khan accused Trump of “using London and our diversity as a political football, as a proxy for a culture war” whilst addressing a crowd in Scotland, before claiming the President’s previous remarks were “water off a duck’s back”.
Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Mayor said he would still be “more than happy to meet President Trump” during his state visit this week.
His words are indicative of a more assertive strategy from City Hall to resist any portrayals of London as a city in decline, a source told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
Khan slams ‘autocratic’ Trump ahead of state visit
However, Mr Khan has now refuelled the row on the first day of the US president’s second state visit to Britain. He accused Mr Trump of fuelling “divisive, far-Right politics” and said his actions in the White House were “straight out of the autocrat’s playbook”.
In an article for the Guardian, Mr Khan wrote: “President Donald Trump and his coterie have perhaps done the most to fan the flames of divisive, far-Right politics around the world in recent years.
“When he came to the UK on his first state visit, I highlighted how the president had deliberately used xenophobia, racism and ‘otherness’ as an electoral tactic, introducing a travel ban on a number of Muslim-majority countries and praising white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“Six years later, the tactics we see from today’s White House seem no different. Scapegoating minorities, illegally deporting US citizens, deploying the military to the streets of diverse cities. These actions aren’t just inconsistent with Western values – they’re straight out of the autocrat’s playbook.”
Trump hails UK a ‘very special place’
Nonetheless, Mr Trump appears to have a soft spot for the UK as a whole. He landed at London Stansted airport alongside wife, Melania, last night, with the couple due to meet the King at Windsor Castle later today.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening, the President revealed a ‘love’ for the UK. “I have a lot of things here that warm my heart,” he said. “I want to tell you. It’s a very special place.”
The American leader is being feted with a stay in Windsor Castle, where he will be hosted by the King and treated to a ceremonial welcome on Wednesday and later, a lavish state banquet. Security will be paramount, with Mr Trump confined to the private Windsor estate on the first full day, before heading to the Prime Minister’s country residence Chequers on Thursday.
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