US PRESIDENT Donald Trump criticised London mayor Sadiq Khan again during a news conference in Scotland alongside British prime minister Keir Starmer, who described Khan as his "friend".
When asked by a reporter if he planned to visit London in September during his state visit, Trump said yes but added: "I'm not a fan of your mayor. I think he's done a terrible job."
"The mayor of London... a nasty person," he said.
Starmer responded: "He's a friend of mine, actually."
Trump repeated his criticism, saying: "I think he's done a terrible job. But I would certainly visit London."
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Trump and Khan have had a history of public disputes. In January, on the eve of Trump’s return to the White House, Khan wrote an article warning of western "reactionary populists" as a "century-defining challenge" for progressives.
During Trump’s first term, Khan opposed the US travel ban on people from certain Muslim countries, which led to a war of words. Trump accused Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when elected in 2016, of doing a "very bad job on terrorism" and called him a "stone cold loser" and "very dumb".
In a podcast recorded before Trump’s re-election on November 5, 2024, Khan accused Trump of targeting him because of his ethnicity and religion, saying: "He's come for me because of, let's be frank, my ethnicity and my religion."
However, in an interview with AFP in December, Khan said the American people had "spoken loudly and clearly" and added, "we have got to respect the outcome of the presidential elections".
Later on Monday, a spokesperson for Khan said the mayor was "delighted that president Trump wants to come to the greatest city in the world".
"He'd see how our diversity makes us stronger not weaker; richer, not poorer," the spokesperson added.
(With inputs from agencies)
