Sir Sadiq Khan used the launch of the London Assembly's Heat Ready plan at Islington Fire Station to answer Donald Trump's latest attack in the London mayor dispute with Donald Trump. Khan said Trump appears to have a crush on him after the US President described him as grossly incompetent on Wednesday.
“I'm not sure why I'm living rent-free inside President Trump's head. I'm not quite clear why this man appears to have a crush on me,” Khan said. He added: “You know, all I would say is it could be because I'm the mayor of a progressive, multicultural, liberal, successful city.”
Islington Fire Station remarks
Khan's comments came while he was speaking in north-east London, where he tied the exchange to his record as Mayor of London. He said London had won the Lee Kuan Yew award for urban planning last week, using that recognition to set his city against Trump's description of him as a bad person and a horrible representative for the UK.
Trump's remarks came from the White House on Wednesday, where he said Khan was grossly incompetent. Trump also called Khan a bad person and a horrible representative for the UK, sharpening a feud that has already moved through several public flashpoints.
Feud since 2015
Khan said the dispute dates back to 2015, when he condemned Trump's suggestion that Muslims should be banned from travelling to the US. After Khan's election in 2016, he described Trump's views on Islam as ignorant. The row continued after the 2017 London Bridge terror attack, when Trump said: “At least seven dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'.”
That history gives Tuesday's exchange its edge: Khan presents London as a progressive and successful city, while Trump keeps returning to personal insults and security arguments. Khan said on Monday that he had ruled out returning to Westminster, and he said he was really sad to see Sir Keir Starmer's resignation announcement the same day.
London and Westminster
The immediate political effect is limited to rhetoric, but the public clash keeps Khan in the spotlight as Mayor of London and keeps Trump's criticism in circulation. Khan's response suggests he is not trying to lower the temperature; he is turning the insult back on Trump and linking it to London's standing rather than to a one-off exchange.
The next step in this story is not a vote or a formal meeting. It is whether Trump answers again, and whether Khan continues to use London events to frame the feud in terms of the city’s record, his role as Mayor of London, and the long-running argument that began in 2015.
