The Mayor of London has reignited his ongoing feud with Donald Trump as the former president arrives for a highly anticipated state visit.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has made it clear over the years that he is not a fan of the former POTUS.
The two have been caught up in a prolonged dispute, exchanging heated remarks on social media for at least a decade.
In one memorable exchange, Trump referred to the mayor as a ‘stone cold loser,’ while Khan retorted that the US President serves as a ‘poster boy for racists.’
Now, Trump has arrived in London for his second state visit, a rare event during which he is expected to be hosted by British dignitaries, meet royalty, and experience the UK’s grand hospitality. This includes an impressive military guard of honor and a banquet worthy of a monarch.
While the president and first lady were reportedly looking forward to the visit, they were met with a chilly reception—both figuratively and literally—as Trump commented on the cold weather upon landing from Air Force One. Protestors also projected images of him alongside the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein onto Windsor Castle.
Sadiq Khan, the 54-year-old mayor, has once again voiced his opinions regarding his apparent adversary. In an op-ed for The Guardian, he made no effort to hide his disdain for the visit.
In his critique, Khan accused Trump of having ‘fanned the flames of the far-right’ and of promoting a ‘toxic form of politics’ in both nations.
Although Khan did not reference the assassination of right-wing MAGA supporter Charlie Kirk, he did allude to a far-right event that took place in London over the weekend.
Elon Musk, Trump’s former close associate, made a surprise appearance by video link to address the crowd of 100,000.
In his op-ed, Khan wrote that as violence erupted during the march, Musk ‘tried to rally protesters against our democracy, telling them to ‘fight back or you die.’
Khan attributes the current tumultuous political atmosphere in both the UK and the US to Trump’s influence.
He accused Trump of leveraging ‘racism’ to garner votes and claimed he has been instrumental in fostering intolerant views, labeling him an ‘autocrat’ with beliefs that are ‘inconsistent’ with Western values.
“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,” Khan wrote.
“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.”
He further emphasized that in the ensuing six years, ‘the way we talk about politics has become darker, more divisive and dangerous’ since Trump’s previous state visit.
Meanwhile, Trump expressed admiration for the UK, telling reporters that he has ‘a lot of things here that warm my heart,’ and referred to the UK as a ‘very special place,’ though this was likely before reading Khan’s harsh critique.