By Obinna Uballa
London mayor Sadiq Khan says he has “squatters’ rights” in United States President Donald Trump’s head, and hopes the US president won’t send him a bill for it, as their long-running war of words flared up again this week.
Speaking to ITV London on Wednesday, Khan quipped: “I think I’ve got squatters’ rights for the amount of time I’ve spent in Donald Trump’s head. I’m just hoping he doesn’t send me an invoice for all the time I’ve spent there.”
The joke came after Trump used his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday to launch another attack on the Labour mayor, calling him a “terrible, terrible mayor” and suggesting he wanted to bring sharia law to Britain’s capital.
Khan hit back, branding Trump “racist,” “sexist,” “misogynistic,” and “Islamophobic.” He argued that far from being in decline, London remained “the greatest city in the world,” topping global indicators on investment and business.
The exchange is the latest in years of acrimony between the two men. Khan, who has served as mayor since 2016, first clashed with Trump over his proposed Muslim travel ban. Ahead of Trump’s first United Kingdom state visit in 2019, Khan likened him to “European dictators of the 1930s and 40s.” Trump, in turn, has called Khan a “stone cold loser” and even challenged him to an IQ test.
Even as the sparring continues, UK Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sought to maintain cordial ties with Washington, rolling out the red carpet for Trump on a second state visit to Britain last week. But Khan made clear he is not interested in toning down his criticisms.
“I think President Trump has shown he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic and he is Islamophobic,” he told Sky News.
