Trump and Khan have a famously strained relationship which has played out on social media over the years
Sadiq Khan has taken a swipe at Donald Trump and his “toxic” politics on the day of his state visit to the UK. The US president and First Lady Melania Trump were welcomed with open arms by the Royal Family to Windsor Castle this morning (Wednesday, September 17). But Trump and Khan have a famously strained relationship which has played out on social media over the years.
The US president has called Khan a “stone cold loser”, “nasty person” and accused him of turning London hospitals into a “war zone.” The Mayor of London has also not received the Trumps as readily, instead taking to social media to denounce the US president for “fanning the flames of the far-right.”
In an op-ed for the Guardian, the Mayor continues: “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.”
Thousands of protesters gathered in Portland Place, near the BBC’s Broadcasting House, to protest against the US leader’s second state visit this afternoon. Some protesters held banners which read: “No to the racism, no to Trump,” while others carried smaller versions of the Trump baby blimp, a 20ft iteration became a symbol of demonstration during the president’s first UK state visit in 2019.
Trump and Khan’s tumultuous relationship history
Trump and Khan’s feud dates back to 2016 when the Mayor of London questioned Trump’s “ignorant” suggestion to ban Muslims from entering the UK. Appearing on Good Morning Britain, the President responded by challenging Mr Khan to take an IQ test.
Just before landing at Stansted Airport from a state visit to the UK in 2019, Trump slammed the London mayor in one of their most famous interactions to date. 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.”
You can read the full story on Trump and the Mayor’s decade long feud here.
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