Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said Donald Trump’s repeated rants were ‘sticks and stones’ and questioned why the US President didn’t have more important things to do
Sadiq Khan says Donald Trump is obsessed with him
Sir Sadiq Khan has said Donald Trump is “obsessed with me” after the US President launched a fresh attack against him.
The Mayor of London said Mr Trump’s repeated rants against him were “sticks and stones” and questioned why he didn’t have more important things to do. It marks the latest salvo in a long-running feud, which began during Mr Trump’s first presidency.
In an interview with Politico this week, the US President attacked “weak” European leaders who he said were destroying their nations with immigration and allowing the continent to decay. He singled out Mr Khan – the Capital’s first Muslim mayor – in his rant.
He said: “If you take a look at Paris, it’s a much different place. I loved Paris. Uh, it’s a much different place than it was. If you take a look at London, you have a mayor named Khan. He’s a horrible mayor.
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“He’s an incompetent mayor, but he’s a horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job. London’s a different place. I love London. I love London. And I hate to see it happen. You know, my roots are in Europe, as you know.”
Sir Sadiq dismissed the comments today in an interview with LBC and said he didn’t want to get into a childish tit-for-tat with the US President. He went on: “I’m slightly curious and concerned why the leader of the free world who’s got so many challenges in the Middle East, in Ukraine, issues around the climate emergency, issues around trade, is spending time talking about me, and giving the impression he’s obsessed with me and, for him, it’s to explain why.”
Asked if Mr Trump was obsessed with him, he said: “Well, look at the evidence. Every opportunity the President gets when there’s a microphone placed in front of him, he appears to be obsessing about me. And I’m unclear why.”
The London Mayor said politicians and right-wing commentators were constantly talking down the city. He said: “They seem to feel insecure that a city that is progressive, that is liberal, that is diverse, that is multicultural, is so incredibly successful. I think their nervousness and worry is it’s the antithesis, it’s the antidote, to all they stand for, which is unilateralism, which is nativism, which is protectionism.”
Asked if it was racism, he said: “Well, I think the question that President Trump’s comments beg is, why obsession with this particular Mayor? On any metrics, by the way, and you can look at Time Out, Trip Advisor, Residence Consultancy, we’re number one in the league table. We are miles ahead of on any metrics, New York, Chicago, LA, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona. Why pick on London?”
Pressed on whether Trump was obsessed with him due to racism, he said: “I’ve said in the past this, this is nothing new. Some of the things President Trump has said and done lead me to believe he’s a President who is racist, who is misogynistic and who is Islamophobic. And I’d go further. I think he’s somebody who is anti-Muslim as well.”