The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, called President Trump “racist, sexist” and “Islamophobic” after Mr. Trump attacked him in his Tuesday speech to the United Nations General Assembly.
During an address that repeatedly veered into broadsides against immigration and renewable energy policies in Europe, Mr. Trump launched a personal criticism of Mr. Khan, with whom he has been publicly feuding since 2015.
Calling Mr. Khan, who is Muslim, a “terrible, terrible mayor,” the president said London had been “changed” and added: “Now they want to go to Shariah law, but you’re in a different country; you can’t do that.”
Mr. Trump was referring to the legal framework of Islam, which has no official legal or constitutional role in Britain. Mr. Khan’s representatives have previously said that he believed there was “no place” for Shariah law in the country.
Mr. Khan, the first Muslim to be elected mayor of London, has long been the target of Islamophobic abuse, threats and false accusations.
On Tuesday, his office initially refused to directly answer Mr. Trump’s claims. But when Mr. Khan was asked for his view while launching a new London bus route on Wednesday, he said: “I think President Trump has shown he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic, and he’s Islamophobic.”
He pointed to official data that shows that a record number of Americans are settling in Britain and said London was “the greatest city in the world.”
Mr. Khan said: “I think people are wondering what it is about this Muslim mayor who leads a liberal, multicultural, progressive, successful city that means I appear to be living rent free inside Donald Trump’s head.”
His remarks were a sharp contrast to the conciliatory tone struck by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s center-left Labour government, which has attempted to build a warm relationship with Mr. Trump’s administration, hoping to foster cooperation on international politics, defense and trade.
Mr. Khan, who represents Labour, did not directly criticize Mr. Starmer’s position, but likened Britain and America’s “special relationship” to a friendship where people should feel able to “call them out when they’re wrong.” He added: “I think President Trump is wrong in many, many ways.”
First elected mayor of London in 2016, Mr. Khan has since won two more mayoral elections and has the largest personal mandate of any British politician.
He has taken a progressive stance on social and religious issues, choosing to be inaugurated at a Christian cathedral in a ceremony attended by civil rights campaigners, marching with official Pride parades in London, and voting in favor of same-sex marriage in his previous role as a lawmaker.
His public feud with Mr. Trump has flared up at several points since it began in 2015, when Mr. Khan called Mr. Trump’s campaign pledge to ban Muslims from entering the United States “outrageous.”
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