Trump Escalates Feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Excludes Him from UK State Banquet
US President Donald Trump has reignited his long-running feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, revealing that he personally requested Khan be excluded from the Royal State Banquet during his second state visit to Britain, according to UK media reports.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return to Washington, Trump branded Khan “one of the worst mayors in the world,” blaming him for rising crime and failed immigration policies in London. “I didn’t want him there,” Trump said, linking his decision to what he described as worsening stabbings, “dirt and filth” in the capital.
“I asked that he not be there… He wanted to be there. I think he’s among the worst mayors in the world. My mother was born in Scotland, and I have a certain pride in London and the UK. But when I see Mayor Khan do a bad job, with the stabbings, the dirt, and the filth, it’s not the same city. I didn’t want him there,” Trump told reporters.
The move came after Khan openly criticized Trump ahead of the visit. Writing in The Guardian, the mayor accused the US president of “fanning the flames of divisive, far-right politics” and warned of “a toxic form of politics spilling onto our streets.”
Responding after the exclusion, Khan doubled down, accusing Trump of emboldening extremists. “Those who seek to divide us will not win,” he said.
A Feud Years in the Making
Trump and Khan’s bitter exchanges stretch back to 2015, when Khan condemned Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban during his first presidential campaign. Since then, Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the London mayor, once calling him a “stone-cold loser.” Khan, in turn, made headlines during Trump’s 2018 UK visit by authorizing the infamous “Trump baby” blimp to fly over London.
Trump Expands Attacks to Ilhan Omar
Trump’s sharp words were not limited to Khan. He also reignited his attacks on Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, referencing her Somali heritage.
In a Truth Social post, Trump described Somalia as “plagued by poverty, hunger, terrorism, piracy, decades of civil war, corruption, and pervasive violence,” before adding:
“All of this, and Ilhan Omar tells us how to run America! P.S. Wasn’t she the one that married her brother in order to gain citizenship???”
Speaking again aboard Air Force One, Trump called Omar “terrible” and suggested she should be impeached. “They come from a place with nothing … and then they tell us how to run our country,” he said.
House Vote on Censure Fails
Trump’s renewed attacks came just after the US House of Representatives narrowly voted down a Republican-led resolution to censure Omar over a retweeted video referencing the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The measure failed 214–213, with four Republicans breaking ranks to side with Democrats. Responding on social media, Omar thanked her colleagues “for having my back and not furthering lies on the House floor,” adding that the vote showed “finally some sanity in the House.”