President Donald Trump reignited his long-standing dispute with London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, making inflammatory claims about the British capital and drawing sharp criticism from the mayor’s office.
Speaking in New York City on Tuesday, Trump described Khan as a “terrible mayor” and falsely claimed that London “wants to go to Sharia law.” The remarks came as part of a broader critique of European immigration policies, with the president alleging that the UN was “funding an assault on Western countries and their borders.”
“Europe is in serious trouble. They have been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump declared. “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.”
The president continued his attack, warning that “both the immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe if something isn’t done immediately. This cannot be sustained.”
Mayor’s Office Responds
Khan’s spokesperson immediately rejected Trump’s comments, telling the Daily Mail: “We are not going to dignify his appalling and bigoted comments with a response. London is the greatest city in the world, safer than major US cities, and we’re delighted to welcome the record number of US citizens moving here.”
The mayor’s office backed up their response with comparative crime statistics, noting that the homicide rate in the US stands at 68 per 1 million population, compared to the UK’s rate of 9.8 per 1 million population.
Background on Sharia Law Claims
While Sharia councils do exist in England, they operate without legal jurisdiction and handle only religious matters within Muslim communities. The councils cannot override British law and have no authority in civil or criminal matters.
Ongoing Feud
The latest exchange represents a continuation of a years-long public dispute between Trump and Khan that dates back to 2015. The tension escalated last week when Trump described the mayor as “among the worst mayors in the world” following his UK state visit.
Trump had claimed that Khan wanted to participate in the state visit events but that he “asked that he not be there.” However, Khan responded that he was “indifferent” to Trump and had “more important things to worry about.”
The feud’s origins trace back to Khan’s 2015 criticism of Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban during the 2016 presidential campaign. The relationship further deteriorated following Trump’s criticism of Khan’s response to the 2017 London Bridge terror attack.
In a notable incident during Trump’s 2018 UK visit, Khan’s office permitted a giant inflatable depicting Trump as a baby to fly over Parliament Square during the president’s visit.
Recent Developments
As Trump began his second presidential term, Khan warned of “resurgent fascism,” setting the stage for continued tensions between the two leaders. The mayor has consistently positioned himself as a vocal critic of Trump’s policies and rhetoric.
The exchange highlights the ongoing diplomatic challenges between the US and UK leaders at the local level, even as the two nations maintain their broader “special relationship” at the federal level.
Khan, who became London’s first Muslim mayor in 2016, has frequently been the target of Trump’s criticism, with the president often linking his attacks to broader immigration and security concerns.
