London mayor hits back at Trump’s UNGA comments, calls US president ‘racist’ and ‘Islamophobic’

By Char Reck, CNN

London (CNN) — The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has fired back at Donald Trump’s false claims that Sharia law is being introduced in the British capital, calling the US president “racist,” “sexist,” “misogynistic” and “Islamophobic.”

Trump used his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Tuesday to label Khan a “terrible mayor” and falsely claim London wants “to go to Sharia law.”

Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital city, told reporters Wednesday: “People are wondering what it is about this Muslim mayor who leads a liberal, multi-cultural, progressive and successful city that means I appear to be living rent-free inside Donald Trump’s head.”

He added, “I think, as Donald Trump has shown, he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic and he is Islamophobic.”

CNN has contacted the White House for comment.

London City Hall had earlier responded to Trump’s remarks, saying in a statement: “London is the greatest city in the world, safer than major US cities, and we’re delighted to welcome the record number of US citizens moving here.”

Sharia law is based on Islam’s holy book, the Quran, and the life of prophet Mohammed. It refers to a set of principles that govern the moral and religious lives of Muslims on matters as varied as prayer, finance, divorce or halal food.

According to a UK government document published in 2019, Sharia councils have existed in the country since the 1980s but are used to “solve the matrimonial problems of Muslims living in the United Kingdom in the light of Islamic family law.”

Their rulings are not legally binding as the councils “have no official legal or constitutional role in the UK,” according to the government.

UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting defended Khan in a post on X Tuesday, writing: “Sadiq Khan is not trying to impose Sharia Law on London.”

“This is a Mayor who marches with Pride, who stands up for difference of background and opinion, who’s focused on improving our transport, our air, our streets, our safety, our choices and chances. Proud he’s our Mayor,” Streeting said.

Trump was in the United Kingdom last week for an unprecedented second state visit. Second-term US presidents aren’t typically afforded the pomp of two official trips. A state banquet was held in his honor at Windsor Castle, but his itinerary didn’t include a journey to the British capital – where crowds of protesters had gathered.

Khan, who was elected in 2016, is a strong critic of Trump, notably giving permission for protesters to fly a 20-foot-tall “Trump baby” balloon in London during his first presidential visit to the United Kingdom in 2016.

There have been several verbal clashes between the two men in the last decade.

On the campaign trail before his first term as president, Trump pledged to ban Muslims from the US once in office. Khan at the time deemed it an “outrageous policy.”

Khan later called Trump’s views on Islam “ignorant,” to which the president hit back, saying, “I will remember those statements. They are very nasty statements.”

In a 2019 opinion piece in British publication The Guardian, the London mayor condemned what he called the red-carpet roll-out that welcomed Trump and his wife Melania on their first UK state visit.

“Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat,” Khan wrote. The mayor further criticized the president in another op-ed earlier this month, accusing the Trump administration’s policies of being “straight out of the autocrat’s playbook.”

During a joint conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July, Trump reignited the feud, calling Khan a “nasty person” who was doing a “terrible job.”

Starmer interrupted Trump, saying of Khan, “He’s a friend of mine, actually.”

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