On Monday morning, President Donald Trump fired back at the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, for his attack against Trump. The president took to Twitter as he landed in the UK to described the British politician as a “stone cold loser.” Trump’s tweets, which were apparently written while he was flying over British airspace, came after an article about the President that the Mayor had written for Britain’s newspaper, The Observer. Writing the article the day before Trump was set to visit the state, Khan compared Trump to the most authoritarian and fascist leaders of the past 100 years.
Replying to Khan, Trump pointed out his poor record as mayor, which has seen violent crime and murder soar. Trump also suggested that Khan spend more time doing his job the right way rather than attacking the leader of one of their most powerful allies. Not only did Trump bash Khan’s “terrible” attempt at leading London, but President Trump also said that the mayor had been foolish, was a “stone cold loser,” and was a lot like the “very dumb and incompetent” Mayor de Blasio of New York. In a tweet, Trump wrote: “Blasio, who has also done a terrible job – only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now!”
In a clear reference to the campaign by leftist politicians and campaign groups in the UK to spoil the relationship with the United States, President Trump said that Khan’s intervention had been for nothing, provided: “I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit.”
On Monday, President Trump landed in London, which is, according to statistics, less safe and more violent than when Khan took office in 2016. According to Breitbart News, under Mayor Khan knife crime has risen by 52%, robbery by 59%, and gun crime by 30%. Worst of all, homicides have risen by 24% and are at the highest it’s been in over 10 years. Khan was also at the center of negative headlines in 2016 when, in response to a terror attack, he casually described terror as: “Part and parcel of living in a great global city is you’ve got to be prepared for these things, you’ve got to be vigilant.” Critics have said that his remarks implied a certain level of acceptance of violence in the capital.
Even though it’s obvious that crime is rising at a rate much higher than the rest of the country, Khan denies responsibility and blames the central government for the surge of crime in his city. Mayor Khan has been accused of playing a “blame game” with crime even though he has allegedly been wasteful with spending money on vanity projects that should have been used on front line policing instead.
The British Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, was one of few dignitaries who welcomed President Trump when Airforce One touched down at London’s Stanstead Airport on Monday morning. He also spoke to Sky News shortly after to reflect on the events that led to the exchange of words between President Trump and Mayor Khan.
Apparently thinking the blame lay with Khan, Hunt said: “…the elected Mayor of London has made some pretty choice insults about Donald Trump, and all I would say is that spat started because the Mayor of London and other people in the Labour Party decided to boycott this visit, and I think that is just totally inappropriate.” Hunt continued by attacking the Labour Party which has seen a significant increase of scandals, particularly over anti-Semitism, throughout the past few years. Hunt said: “This is a State visit, not a political visit, [the President is being] hosted by Her Majesty the Queen to mark the great friendship between our two countries.
He continued by saying: “For the Labour Party to be boycotting this visit on the grounds of sexism and racism on a day where their candidate in the Peterborough by-election is being accused of liking an anti-Semitic post on Facebook, when they are being accused of turning a blind eye to the terrible behaviour in the Labour Party HQ, this is about virtue signalling on Labour’s behalf, this isn’t about any position of principle.”
Over this past weekend, Mayor Khan criticized the State Visit happening despite his boycott. He also compared President Trump to the world’s most heinous dictators of the past. In his column in the Observer, Khan compared Trump to 1930s dictators, 1970s military parties, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong-Un. He also said that it was “un-British” to welcome what he considered the “global threat” President of the United States.
These comments are just the latest in a long-running dispute between Trump and Khan. In 2018, Breitbart reported before the last visit of President Trump. Then, the president said: “You have a mayor who has done a terrible job in London. He has done a terrible job. Take a look at the terrorism that is taking place. Look at what is going on in London. I think he has done a very bad job on terrorism.”
