LONDON (News Desk) U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that he personally requested London Mayor Sadiq Khan be excluded from the state banquet hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle during his second state visit to the United Kingdom.
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Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return to Washington, Trump lashed out at Khan, branding him “one of the worst mayors in the world” and accusing him of failing on crime and immigration.
“I asked that he not be there. He wanted to be there, as I understand. I didn’t want him,” Trump told journalists.
British media reported that Khan had not been expecting an invitation to the royal event. A source close to the mayor dismissed Trump’s comments, accusing the president of promoting “fear and division.” The source added that London remains “a global success story” that continues to attract record numbers of American visitors.
Reason: The feud between Trump and Khan dates back to 2016, when Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital, criticized Trump’s proposed Muslim ban during his presidential campaign. Since then, Trump has repeatedly targeted Khan over London’s crime rates, while Khan has accused Trump of spreading hate and undermining democratic values.
During Trump’s first state visit to the UK in 2019, Khan compared the U.S. president to “20th-century fascists,” prompting Trump to call him a “stone-cold loser.”
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