Writing for The Observer, Khan expressively condemned the red-carpet treatment being afforded to Trump who, with his family, will be a guest of the Queen during his three-day stay, echoing the ongoing protests in Britain’s capital.
“President Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. The far right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms and the values that have defined our liberal, democratic societies for more than 70 years,” Khan wrote.
The mayor of London compared Trump with Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Matteo Salvini in Italy, Marine Le Pen in France and Nigel Farage in the UK, claiming that they are all “using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but with new sinister methods to deliver their message.”
Trump earlier in an interview with the Sun said he believed Boris Johnson would be a good Prime Minister after Theresa May’s resignation. In the Sunday Times he said he would want “to know” Jeremy Corbyn before sharing American intelligence and suggested Nigel Farage negotiate with Brussels if the EU failed to give Britain what it wants.
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Khan and Trump have been engaged in a long feud since Khan became mayor of London in 2016. Trump challenged Khan to an IQ test after the mayor said the US president’s views on Islam were “ignorant.” Then, following the terrorist attack on London Bridge and Borough market in 2017, the president accused Khan of “pathetic” behaviour. In July last year Trump said Khan had “done a very bad job on terrorism.”