Donald Trump and Sadiq Khan’s long-standing feud has erupted once again, with the US president pointedly excluding London’s mayor from official events during his second state visit to the United Kingdom. The latest spat, which unfolded on September 19, 2025, has reignited a decade of personal and political animosity between the two leaders, drawing fresh attention to their divergent visions for London and the world at large.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after his visit, President Trump didn’t mince words: “I didn’t want him there, I asked that he not be there. I think the Mayor of London Khan is among the worst mayors in the world, and we have some bad ones. If you look at Chicago, but I think he’s the equivalent of the mayor of Chicago. I think he’s done a terrible job. Crime in London is through the roof. The Mayor of London Khan, Mayor Khan has done a terrible job. And on immigration, he’s a disaster.” According to BBC and other major outlets, Trump claimed Khan had wanted to attend the state events, “but I asked that he not be there.”
Trump’s criticism didn’t stop there. He invoked his personal ties to the UK, referencing his mother’s Scottish roots: “I have a certain pride in London and the UK. My mother was born in Scotland, as you know. And when I see Mayor Khan do a bad job, the stabbings and the dirt and the filth, it’s not the same.”
But sources close to Sadiq Khan quickly pushed back. As reported by The Standard and BBC, a spokesperson for the mayor responded, “Trump’s politics is one of fear and division. This includes talking down our great capital city. London is a global success story – it’s open, dynamic and safer than major US cities. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons record numbers of Americans are choosing to make London their home.” The spokesperson also clarified that Khan had made it clear weeks prior that he neither sought nor expected an invitation to Trump’s contentious state visit events.
This latest flare-up is only the newest chapter in a saga that began in 2015, when Sadiq Khan, then a Labour candidate for mayor, publicly criticized Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from traveling to the United States. Khan’s remarks at the time were blunt: “It’s not about me. It’s about my friends, my family and others from all over the world. My concern is he is playing into the hands of extremists who say it’s not compatible to be western and be mainstream Muslim.” Trump, never one to let a slight go unanswered, retorted, “I will remember those statements. They are very nasty statements.”
Their relationship only worsened after Khan’s election as London mayor in 2016. Trump suggested Khan would be exempt from his travel ban and called his appointment a “good thing,” but Khan rejected the overture, accusing Trump of playing into extremist narratives. The tension escalated dramatically in 2017, after the London Bridge terror attack. Trump publicly criticized Khan’s handling of the tragedy, tweeting that it was “ridiculous” for Khan to say there was “no reason to be alarmed.” In reality, Khan had told Londoners not to be alarmed by the increased police presence, not the attack itself. Khan responded, “I had more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks.” Trump, undeterred, called Khan’s explanation a “pathetic excuse.”
In the aftermath, Khan’s office allowed anti-Trump activists to fly a giant inflatable depicting Trump as a baby in Parliament Square during the president’s 2018 UK visit, a move that drew international headlines and further soured the relationship. Trump, for his part, doubled down on his criticisms, declaring that Khan had done a “terrible job” managing crime in London and was “a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me.”
The feud spilled into international politics in 2019, when Trump was accused of trying to influence the UK general election by backing Boris Johnson for prime minister. Khan called Trump’s actions “racist” and accused him of promoting a far-right agenda: “President Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. The far right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms and the values that have defined our liberal, democratic societies for more than 70 years.” Jeremy Corbyn, then Labour Party leader, also weighed in, stating, “President Trump’s attempt to decide who will be Britain’s next prime minister is an entirely unacceptable interference in our country’s democracy.”
After Trump left office in January 2021, the war of words cooled—at least temporarily. But as Trump’s bid for a second term gained momentum in 2023 and 2024, Khan issued public warnings about the “far-reaching” consequences of a Trump return, while also expressing a willingness to work with the democratically elected US president. “Somebody who believes in democracy, and voting and elections, we should recognize the fact that Donald Trump is the elected president of the United States,” Khan told The Standard. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this president is different from the last time he was president.”
Yet the animosity was never far from the surface. Earlier in 2025, during a visit to Scotland with UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Trump called Khan a “nasty person” and reiterated his view that Khan had done “a terrible job.” Despite the jabs, Khan responded with a note of civic pride, saying, “Sadiq is 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. Perhaps these are the reasons why a record number of Americans have applied for British citizenship under his presidency.”
Trump’s most recent visit to London was met by thousands of protestors, a vivid reminder of the polarizing effect both leaders have on the British public. Demonstrators marched through the city, voicing their opposition to Trump’s policies and presence, while Trump used the occasion to reiterate his criticisms of Khan’s leadership and London’s state under his watch.
The political and personal rivalry between Trump and Khan has become something of a transatlantic spectacle, reflecting deeper divides over immigration, crime, and the role of populist rhetoric in democratic societies. While Trump frames his criticisms in terms of public safety and national pride, Khan and his allies argue that the president’s approach stokes fear and division, undermining the inclusive values they say define London.
As Trump’s second term continues and Khan remains at the helm of London, it’s clear that neither man is likely to back down. Their feud, rooted in clashing worldviews and amplified by social media and international headlines, shows no sign of abating. For now, the world watches as two of the most outspoken figures on either side of the Atlantic continue their public battle over the future of one of the world’s great cities.