Donald Trump reignited an old feud in Scotland Monday, taking potshots at Mayor of London Sadiq Khan while sitting beside Keir Starmer.
“I’m not a fan of your mayor,” said the U.S. president when asked if he would make a visit to London on his upcoming state visit. “I think he’s done a terrible job … a nasty person. I think he’s done a terrible job. But I would certainly visit London, yeah.”
The dig offered up an awkward moment for Starmer, the British prime minister, who was sitting alongside Trump following a bilateral meeting between the two leaders in Scotland.
Starmer said of Khan, a Labour Party colleague who has frequently clashed with Trump over the years: “He’s a friend of mine, actually.”
Trump and Khan — a record-breaking three-term mayor and one of Britain’s most prominent Muslim politicians — have history. Khan said Trump’s second election as U.S. president showed that “progress is not inevitable” and hit out at “racism and hatred” unleashed by the campaign.
Trump once called Khan a “stone cold loser” and “very dumb” — after Khan compared Trump to “the fascists of the 20th century.” In 2018, Khan allowed anti-Trump activists to fly a blimp over parliament showing Trump as a crying baby in a diaper during his first state visit.