London Mayor Sadiq Khan tears into Trump as a “racist, sexist, misogynistic, Islamophobic” after Trump’s latest unprovoked attack on him at UNGA

London Mayor Sadiq Khan tears into Trump after years of Trump’s tirades at his being Muslim

By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor

First, Donald Trump publicly beat his chest and boasted about how he stopped Sadiq Khan from showing up during his state visit to the United Kingdom between September 16 and 18, an event held largely in London where Khan is Mayor.

That was a slap in the face of Khan in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, progressive city where he won as Mayor for a second term in 2021 and third term in 2024, regardless of Trump abusing him from across the Atlantic for just being a Muslim since he first won the vote in 2016.

Then, on September 23, Trump launched another unproved attack against Khan in his speech at the 80^th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) which Khan did not attend and where London did not feature.

The United States President took a dig at him and his city on the world stage in New York, claiming London has “a terrible, terrible mayor, and it’s been changed, it’s been so changed. Now they want to go to Sharia law.”

And a thoroughly fed up Khan reacted by lambasting Trump as having shown he is “racist, sexist, misogynistic and Islamophobic,” in an interview with BBC London.

Khan added: “People are wondering what it is about this Muslim mayor who leads a liberal, multi-cultural, progressive and successful city, that means I appear to be living rent-free inside Donald Trump’s head.”

“I think President Trump has shown he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic and he is Islamophobic.

“When people say things, when people act in a certain way, when people behave in a certain way, you’ve got to believe them.”

Responding to Trump calling him a “terrible mayor”, he said he was “thankful we have record numbers of Americans coming to London”.

He argued that different criteria showed London was “often the number one city on the globe when it comes to culture”.

UK Cabinet minister Pat McFadden defended Khan on Wednesday.

He said Khan and Trump “have had a beef for some years” and rejected the claim that London wanted to “go to” Sharia law as British law and “no other kind of law” applied in the UK.

Earlier this month, Justice Minister Sarah Sackman told the House of Commons Sharia law formed “no part of the law of England and Wales”.

While religious courts, including Sharia councils, do operate in the UK, most of their work deals with religious marriage arbitration and financial matters. The government has been clear that their rulings are not legally binding.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said with President Trump, people should “never take what he says literally, ever, on anything, but always take everything he says seriously”.

“So is he right to say that Sharia is an issue in London? Yes,” Farage said during an LBC phone-in.

“Is it an overwhelming issue at this stage? No.

“Has the mayor of London directly linked himself to it? No.”

“I think what Trump was aiming at with his big pitch that the West (is) going to hell is it’s in danger of losing its culture, its heritage, its identity.”

Sackman previously told Parliament: “Where people choose to put themselves before those councils, in common with Christian, Jewish and other courts of faith, that is part of religious tolerance which is an important British value.”

The Church of England’s ecclesiastical courts have jurisdiction over some aspects of church property and criminal conduct by clergy while Jewish religious tribunals, known as Beth Din, are a voluntary religious tribunal where individuals can resolve disputes based on Jewish law.

The Roman Catholic Church operates tribunals that consider spiritual issues and marriage annulments.

Trump has abused Khan for several years

This is not the first time Trump has attacked Khan.

In 2019, he called Khan, who was re-elected Mayor for a third term in 2024, a “stone cold loser”.

In the past, Trump has challenged him to an IQ test and been critical of his response to the London Bridge attack in 2017.

In July, during a visit to Scotland, Trump  called Khan “a nasty person” who had “done a terrible job”.

Earlier this month, Trump said he “didn’t want” Khan at the state banquet hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One heading back to the US after the state visit, Trump described Khan as “among the worst mayors in the world”.

Khan did not attend the state banquet and he did not seek or expect an invitation.

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