President Donald Trump reignited his longstanding feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan this week, accusing the far-left mayor of destroying the city through failed leadership and mass migration policies. Trump’s remarks were met with outrage from Khan, who went so far as to accuse the U.S. President of “grooming” racists through his critical stance on immigration.
In an interview with POLITICO, President Trump described Khan as “a horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor” and blamed London’s dramatic demographic shift for his election. Trump said: “He gets elected because so many people have come in… London’s a different place.” The comments came as Trump and the White House issued broader warnings about unchecked immigration threatening the identity of European nations, with officials cautioning about “civilizational erasure” within NATO member states.
The clash escalated when Khan responded in an interview with LBC, claiming Trump’s rhetoric contributes to a rise in anti-Muslim hatred in Britain. “You can call it groomed… there is a direct link between language and how sometimes people can become radicalised,” Khan said, accusing the President of inciting hatred, whether “intentionally or unintentionally.”
Khan also accused Trump of being “obsessed” with him, complaining that the President repeatedly singles him out. “Every opportunity the President gets when there’s a microphone placed in front of him, he appears to be obsessing about me. And I’m unclear why,” Khan said.
The feud dates back to 2015 when Khan, a Labour Party politician, criticized then-candidate Trump for proposing a temporary halt to Muslim immigration following the San Bernardino terrorist attack. Since then, the two have exchanged public jabs. Khan has accused Trump of using “xenophobia” as a political tool and called for the cancellation of Trump’s state visit to the U.K. Trump has labeled Khan a “stone-cold loser,” citing London’s spiraling knife crime and failure to curb radical Islamic threats.
President Trump’s comments this week also reflect growing concerns among conservatives in the West about mass migration reshaping national identities. Census data from 2021 revealed that the White British population in London has fallen to just 37 percent, a dramatic shift from previous decades.
With migration and national identity becoming central issues on both sides of the Atlantic, the war of words between Trump and Khan is likely far from over.
