London Mayor Sadiq Khan has hit back at Donald Trump, calling the US President ‘obsessive’ after Trump branded him a ‘disgusting mayor’ in latest attack
Lizzy Buchan Political Editor and Zesha Saleem
13:52, 14 Dec 2025Updated 13:57, 14 Dec 2025
Sadiq Khan describes Trump as ‘obsessive’
Sir Sadiq Khan has claimed that Donald Trump is “obsessed with him” after the US President’s latest tirade against him. The London Mayor dismissed Trump’s repeated diatribes as “sticks and stones”, questioning why the President didn’t have more pressing matters to attend to.
It marks another chapter in their ongoing feud, which started during Mr Trump’s first term in office.
In a recent interview with Politico, the US President criticised “weak” European leaders, accusing them of ruining their countries with immigration policies and allowing Europe to deteriorate.
He singled out London’s first Muslim mayor for particular criticism.
He stated: “If you take a look at Paris, it’s a much different place. I loved Paris. Uh, it’s a much different place than it was. If you take a look at London, you have a mayor named Khan. He’s a horrible mayor.”
Trump described European leaders as ‘weak'(Image: Alex Wong, Getty Images)
He continued: “He’s an incompetent mayor, but he’s a horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job. London’s a different place. I love London. I love London. And I hate to see it happen. You know, my roots are in Europe, as you know.”
Sir Sadiq brushed off the remarks today during an LBC interview, stating he had no intention of engaging in a petty back-and-forth with the US President, reports the Mirror.
He continued: “I’m slightly curious and concerned why the leader of the free world who’s got so many challenges in the Middle East, in Ukraine, issues around the climate emergency, issues around trade, is spending time talking about me, and giving the impression he’s obsessed with me and, for him, it’s to explain why.”
When questioned whether Mr Trump was fixated on him, he replied: “Well, look at the evidence. Every opportunity the President gets when there’s a microphone placed in front of him, he appears to be obsessing about me. And I’m unclear why.”
The London Mayor argued that politicians and right-wing pundits were perpetually criticising the capital.
Sir Sadiq brushed off the remarks (Image: JB Lacroix, FilmMagicvia Getty Images)
He explained: “They seem to feel insecure that a city that is progressive, that is liberal, that is diverse, that is multicultural, is so incredibly successful. I think their nervousness and worry is it’s the antithesis, it’s the antidote, to all they stand for, which is unilateralism, which is nativism, which is protectionism.”
When quizzed about whether it was down to racism, he responded: “Well, I think the question that President Trump’s comments beg is, why obsession with this particular Mayor?
Trump has a problem with the Mayor of London(Image: AP)
“On any metrics, by the way, and you can look at Time Out, Trip Advisor, Residence Consultancy, we’re number one in the league table.
“We are miles ahead of on any metrics, New York, Chicago, LA, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona. Why pick on London?”.
When pushed further on whether Trump’s fixation stemmed from racism, he declared: “I’ve said in the past this, this is nothing new.
“Some of the things President Trump has said and done lead me to believe he’s a President who is racist, who is misogynistic and who is Islamophobic. And I’d go further. I think he’s somebody who is anti-Muslim as well.”
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