Sadiq Khan brands Trump a bully and vows to stand up to his ‘hatred and bile’
The mayor of London has branded Donald Trump a “bully” for his long-running campaign against him, just weeks after the US President called him “terrible, vicious, disgusting”.
Sir Sadiq Khan also accused Trump of throwing “bile” at the UK after claiming the Muslim politician was successful because there were “too many” immigrants in the city.
Sir Sadiq, who also claimed President Trump was “obsessed” with him, said he learned at the age of nine that “the best way to deal with a bully, whether it’s on the playground or in the White House, is to stand up to them. You don’t get any more respect from a bully by cowering away”.
“And when someone attacks my city, our citizens, our values, our way of life — when someone makes certain generalizations about members of a faith — I think it’s an obligation to stand up to them,” he said in an interview with Politico.
He also joked that he thought Mr. Trump would turn his focus to Zohran Mamdani when he was elected mayor of New York.
Ahead of the vote, Mr. Trump branded him a “communist,” while Mr. Mamdani suggested the president was a fascist.
But during an extraordinary meeting in the Oval Office, the two men laughed off the insults and appeared to develop some kind of rapport.
.jpg)
Sir Sadiq joked: “When you look at President Trump’s hostility, hatred and resentment towards me. When Zohran was elected, I assumed President Trump would give me a double whammy and spend his time targeting Zohran.”
But he suggested their first meeting was a form of “tactical diplomacy” rather than a true meeting of minds.
As for Trump’s criticism of immigration in the UK, he described his comments as “not just directed at me, but sweeping generalizations about the country in terms of immigration policy and how elections are run and won.”
She added: “I really think he’s obsessed. There have been many times when he’s said terrible things and I haven’t responded because I’m too busy with the gossip and the pathetic name-calling to get involved.”
Last month Mr Trump reignited his long-running feud with Sir Sadiq, saying of the city’s first Muslim mayor, whose parents came from Pakistan: “He’s being elected because too many people have come. [to the UK]. “They’re voting for him now.”
He also called himself a “terrible, cruel, disgusting mayor” and said he did a “terrible job.”
With Labor set to suffer heavy losses in council elections in Wales, Scotland and England in May, Sir Sadiq suggested his party could learn from its success in London, saying: “I’m quite happy to lead and they follow me.”
But he insisted he did not want to become Labor leader at a time when speculation was mounting over Keir Starmer’s future. “No, no, no, no. I have no intention, no plans, nor do I want to be leader of the Labor Party or prime minister,” he said.
