For years, Donald Trump has traded barbs with London Mayor Sadiq Khan — calling him a ‘stone-cold loser’ and even accusing him of pushing London towards Sharia law.
00:00I look at London where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor, and it's been so changed, so changed.
00:07Now they want to go to Sharia law.
00:09Donald Trump hates Sadek Khan. The question that follows is simple.
00:13Does he hate him because he's London mayor or because he's a Muslim?
00:16This feud has been building for nearly a decade.
00:19In December 2015, during his presidential campaign, Trump called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S.
00:25Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S.
00:32That statement became a touchstone in later exchanges between the two men.
00:35When Khan became London's first Muslim mayor in 2016, his identity as a high-profile Muslim politician in a major western capital increased the political stakes.
00:43Trump and Khan created criticism repeatedly in the years that followed.
00:46Over the years, Trump has used repeated personal barbs aimed at Khan.
00:50During a visit around 2019, he called Khan a stone-cold loser and accused him of doing a terrible job, remarks widely reported at the time.
00:58After the 2017 London terror attacks, Khan had a message for Londoners.
01:03I'd urge all Londoners to remain calm and vigilant today and over the days ahead.
01:08Trump seized on Khan's phrasing and tweeted criticism, accusing the mayor of downplaying the attacks.
01:13By 2019, the rivalry was already a global story.
01:16When Trump visited the U.K. that year, Londoners staged large protests, including the now-iconic Trump baby balloon, over Parliament Square.
01:23And that feud was a major part of the coverage.
01:25The dispute resurfaced and escalated during Trump's second state visit to the U.K. in September 2025.
01:31Trump told reporters of Air Force One that...
01:32I heard one of them. I think the mayor of London, Khan, is among the worst mayors in the world.
01:40U.K. sources also note that Khan did not seek or expect a state banquet invitation and then came Trump's UN speech in 2025.
01:47He claimed London was heading towards Sharia law, a statement that had no evidence behind it.
01:52Khan's office dismissed it outright.
01:54We are not going to dig before his appalling and bigoted comments with a response, they said.
01:59British leaders stepped in too.
02:00Health Secretary West Streeting said,
02:02Sadiq Khan is not trying to impose a Sharia law on London.
02:05This is a mayor who marches with pride, who stands up for differences of background and opinion.
02:10Khan himself has compared Trump's rhetoric to authoritarian propaganda,
02:13saying they are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century.
02:18On the surface, Trump says this is about crime, terrorism and poor leadership.
02:22But Khan argues the attacks are rooted in prejudice and his identity as a Muslim leader of a major Western capital.
02:28For Trump, Khan is a political foil.
02:31For Khan, standing up to Trump has become part of his platform.
02:34One thing is clear, the feud is no passing quarrel.
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