Trump escalates feud with London Mayor Khan…bans him from banquet hosted by King Charles

19.9.2025
US President Donald Trump said he banned London Mayor Sadiq Khan from the banquet hosted by King Charles during his state visit to the UK this week.
Trump, speaking to journalists on his way back to the USA Thursday, Trump described Mayor Khan, as one of the “the worst mayors in the world.”
“I didn’t want him there at the banquet, I asked for him not to be there, I don’t want that,” the President said.
“Sadiq Khan the mayor of London wasn’t welcomed, and he did not attend.
“The mayor of London, Khan, is among the worst in the world. He is the equivalent of the mayor of Chicago. Mayor Khan has done a terrible job. On immigration, he’s a disaster. I’ve not liked him for a long time,” Trump said.
Citing a rise in stabbings and what he called deterioration in the city’s cleanliness, Trump added that his concerns were tied to family roots in Britain.
“I have a certain pride in London and the UK, my mother was born in Scotland. And when I see Mayor Khan doing a bad job, the stabbings, the dirt, the filth, it’s not the same. No, I didn’t want him there.”
Trump and Khan have traded barbs for years, with Khan repeatedly criticising Trump’s immigration policies and rhetoric, while the former US president has responded with personal remarks.
A few months earlier, Trump called the London mayor a “nasty person,” insisting he was “not a big fan” of Khan’s leadership.
Those comments, made in Scotland with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer by his side, were followed by a statement from the mayor’s office welcoming Trump’s planned visit.
The spokesperson said Trump would see firsthand “how our diversity makes us stronger, not weaker; richer, not poorer,” and suggested that “a record number of Americans have applied for British citizenship under his Presidency.”