Journalism of Courage
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has branded Donald Trump “racist, sexist and Islamophobic” after the US President used his United Nations General Assembly address to attack him as a “terrible mayor” and falsely suggest the city wanted to be governed by Islamic law.
“I think Donald Trump has shown he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic and he’s Islamophobic,” Khan told reporters Wednesday.
The two leaders have clashed repeatedly since Khan was elected in 2016. That year, he strongly criticised Trump’s plan for a travel ban on several majority-Muslim countries, which was enacted in 2017. Trump, in turn, has frequently mocked the London mayor, once calling him “a nasty person” at a news conference.
Trump’s latest remarks came in his UN speech on Tuesday, where he took aim at member states and the institution itself. “I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor, and it’s been changed, it’s been so changed. Now they want to go to Sharia law. But you are in a different country, you can’t do that,” he said.
Initially, City Hall dismissed Trump’s words, saying: “We are not going to dignify his appalling and bigoted comments with a response.” But Khan struck back the next day, quipping: “I think people are wondering what it is about this Muslim mayor who leads a liberal, multicultural, progressive, successful city that means I appear to be living in Donald Trump’s head, rent-free.”
Speaking from a London bus, Khan also noted the “record numbers of Americans” moving to the capital. “There must be a reason for that,” he said.
His sharp criticism contrasted with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who last week joined King Charles III in hosting Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a lavish state visit. The trip marked the first time a sitting US president had been welcomed for a second official visit.
Khan suggested Britain should hold Trump to higher standards: “If you have a best friend, you should expect more from them — it’s very different to an acquaintance or somebody who’s a distant friend.”
While acknowledging the close military and economic ties between the UK and the US, Khan added: “I think that President Trump is wrong in many, many ways.”
Earlier this month, President Trump said he “didn’t want” Sadiq at the state banquet hosted by the King at Windsor Castle. Later, speaking to reporters on Air Force One heading back to the US after the state visit, Trump described him as “among the worst mayors in the world”.
