US President Donald Trump reignited his feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, branding him “among the worst mayors in the world” and barring him from attending a high-profile banquet during his visit to the United Kingdom.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Trump confirmed that Khan had shown interest in attending the event at Windsor Castle hosted by King Charles III, but he had “requested that he not attend.”
“I didn’t want him there, I asked for him not to be there, I don’t want that,” the President said. “Sadiq Khan the mayor of London wasn’t welcomed, and he did not attend.”
The US President accused the city’s first Muslim mayor of failing on crime and immigration, saying his record had left London in decline.
“The mayor of London, Khan, is among the worst in the world. He is the equivalent of the mayor of Chicago. Mayor Khan has done a terrible job. On immigration, he’s a disaster. I’ve not liked him for a long time,” Trump said.
Citing a rise in stabbings and what he called deterioration in the city’s cleanliness, Trump added that his concerns were tied to family roots in Britain.
“I have a certain pride in London and the UK, my mother was born in Scotland. And when I see Mayor Khan doing a bad job, the stabbings, the dirt, the filth, it’s not the same. No, I didn’t want him there.”
Trump and Khan have traded barbs for years, with Khan repeatedly criticising Trump’s immigration policies and rhetoric, while the former US president has responded with personal remarks.
A few months earlier, Trump called the London mayor a “nasty person,” insisting he was “not a big fan” of Khan’s leadership.
Those comments, made in Scotland with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer by his side, were followed by a statement from the mayor’s office welcoming Trump’s planned visit.
The spokesperson said Trump would see firsthand “how our diversity makes us stronger, not weaker; richer, not poorer,” and suggested that “a record number of Americans have applied for British citizenship under his Presidency.”
Trump’s latest attack on Khan came shortly before he wrapped up his second state visit to the UK.
Alongside Prime Minister Starmer, he also addressed a news conference and held talks with British leaders as both sides discussed a potential multibillion-dollar technology deal.
