“He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me”
Donald Trump launched into a Twitter tirade against Sadiq Khan moments before touching down in London, describing him as a “stone cold loser” who has done a “terrible job” as London mayor.
The US president also compared the Labour politician to New York City’s mayor Bill de Blasio, with whom Trump has also previously clashed.
“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,” Trump tweeted on Monday morning, ahead of Air Force One arriving at Stansted Airport.
“He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me.
“Kahn [sic] 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. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now!”
It came after Trump insulted Khan before departing White House on Sunday evening, telling reporters “I don’t think much of him”, before adding: “I think that he’s a – he’s the twin of [Bill] de Blasio, except shorter.”
Writing in the Observer on Sunday ahead of the president’s state visit, Khan had described the rhetoric Donald Trump uses as being like that of the “fascists of the 20th century” and that Britain should not be “rolling out the red carpet” during the trip.
Khan said: “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.”
