President Donald Trump wasted no time in responding to petulant taunts by London’s Muslim mayor, labelling him a “stone cold loser” from Air Force One minutes before landing in the UK for his three-day state visit that includes an audience with Queen Elizabeth.
The president also said Mayor Sadiq Khan is “very dumb” before touching down at Stansted Airport, just outside of London.
He wrote: “Sadiq Khan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly ‘nasty’ to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom.”
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In a tweet in which he compared Khan to New York City’s socialist mayor, Mr Trump added: “Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job – only half his height.”
Sky reports: The president’s comments come after Mr Khan told Sky News the UK is wrong to “roll out the red carpet” to Mr Trump.
The London mayor has said some of the president’s actions and policies since being inaugurated in 2017 have been “abhorrent and offensive”.
Mr Khan’s spokesman said in reply to Mr Trump’s tweets on Monday: “This is much more serious than childish insults which should be beneath the president of the United States.
“Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country, warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe, which is putting at risk the basic values that have defined our liberal democracies for more than 70 years.”
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who was seen speaking with the president on the runway of Stansted Airport, has criticised the Labour party for boycotting the state visit.
He also appeared to come out on the president’s side over his tweets about Mr Khan, saying the London mayor had previously made some “choice insults” about Mr Trump.
Mr Hunt said: “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.”
