London’s far-left Mayor Sadiq Khan accused President Donald Trump of being “obsessed” with him as he celebrates his tenth anniversary as head of the British capital — jibing Trump by asking whether he is “interested” and “fancies” him.
President Trump has been an outspoken critic of Khan and how his administration’s policies have impacted Londoners and ground down the city, describing him as one of the worst mayors in the world during a September interview with GB News.
While the remarks may imply there was a certain asymmetry in Trump’s interest in the London Mayor, there is no doubt Khan has proved to be every bit as preoccupied with the U.S. President. Indeed, Khan has spent a considerable amount of time and efforts over the past decade ranting against Trump and his policies, issuing a barrage of claims and accusations ranging from “racism,” “homophobia,” “xenophobia,” and “Islamophobia,” among several others.
This week, Khan held an interview with the London-based magazine The Big Issue to mark the tenth anniversary of his tenure as Mayor of London. In the interview, Khan touched upon the subject of his decade-old quarrel with President Trump and claimed that he perceives that he is living “rent-free” in President Trump’s head — calling “absurd” that Trump is “obsessed” with him.
“Maybe he fancies me, I don’t know. President Trump, I’m happily married! I’m not interested,” Khan told The Big Issue.
The London Mayor affirmed that he and his policies represent the “antithesis” of all that President Trump believes it, presenting London as a city that is “progressive, liberal, diverse, multicultural” and the “greatest city” in the world. In contrast, he characterized President Trump as a nativist, a protectionist, and a unilateralist that believes “mono-ethnism” and in the superiority of Christianity.
“So I can understand why he wants to spread disinformation about this dystopian version of London because Londoners have chosen this guy who’s a Muslim of Pakistani origin,” Khan claimed.
Furthermore, Khan also accused Trump of allegedly bringing racial slurs such as the “P-word” and the “N-word,” and the objectification of women into the mainstream through his views. Much like many of his past accusations against Trump over the past decade, Khan did not present any evidence to substantiate this new accusation against President Trump.
“So the P-word is back, the N-word is back, the Y-word is back. And women are now being told by men what they can do with their bodies. I could go on. And so that is a problem for all of us,” he said.
Khan recounted that his tenure as Mayor of London has so far seen the passage of six different British Prime Ministers from David Cameron at the time he took office to Sir Keir Starmer. He claimed that, as Mayor, it is not his role to be the Labour Party’s representative, but instead it is to be a “champion and advocate” for London. Khan lamented that although a Labour PM does not wake up every day seeking to make his life “difficult” the government also cannot open the spending taps as much as he would like because the inheritance received from the previous administration “wasn’t great.”
He also expressed that he has found himself at odds with the British government and has disagreed with it on several subjects, such as rejoining the EU, being more “strident” over the “genocide” in Gaza, and granting recognition to the “State of Palestine.” In spite of his alleged differences with the Labour-run government, Khan stated that he is pleased that Starmer is “standing up” to President Trump when it comes to Iran, despite his disagreements over the British PM’s broader courtship of Trump.
During his September speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President Trump called out Mayor Khan and warned that London sought to impose Sharia Law. Khan responded by accusing Trump of being “bigoted” and asserted that London is not just the “greatest city in the world” but that it is “safer” than America’s major cities.
Speaking to Politico in December, President Trump said that Khan was a “disaster” that is in office only because of the UK’s immigration policies “because so many people have come in.”
“He’s a horrible mayor. 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,” President Trump said.