An insider close to Sadiq Khan has slammed Donald Trump for spreading “fear and divison” following his second state visit to the UK.The Mayor of London and the US president did not meet during the state banquet, where Mr Trump dined with members of the Royal Family.
Mr Trump also claimed to reporters on Air Force One that Mr Khan wanted to attend the banquet, but “I asked that he not be there”. But a source close to Mr Khan rejected this assessment, clarifying that they did not seek or expect an invite. They said: “Trump’s politics is one of fear and division. This includes talking down our great capital city.
“London is a global success story – it’s open, dynamic and safer than major US cities. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons record numbers of Americans are choosing to make London their home.”
This comes after Mr Trump called Mr Khan one of the “worst mayors in the world” during his flight back to the US.
He told reporters: “I think the Mayor of London, Khan, is among the worst mayors in the world, and we have some bad ones.
“I think he’s done a terrible job. Crime in London is through the roof. I asked that he not be there. He wanted to be there, as I understand, I didn’t want him.
“I have a certain pride in London and the UK. My mother was born in Scotland, as you know. And when I see Mayor Khan do a bad job, the stabbings and the dirt and the filth, it’s not the same.”
The two men have come to blows since 2015, when the Labour politician condemned the then presidential hopeful’s suggestion that Muslims should be banned from travelling to the US.
Mr Trump then criticised the mayor’s response to the London Bridge terror attack, and in 2018, his office gave permission for an inflatable depicting Mr Trump as a baby to fly during his visit.
The US president responded by saying Mr Khan “has done a terrible job as Mayor of London” and was “a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me”.
