By Wayne Lee-
Sadiq Khan and President Donald Trump are opening old wounds through their exchange of words.
The London Mayor’s feud with the U.S President started when Trump expressed his plans to impose a total ban on Muslims during the primaries for his candidacy to represent the Republican party. A the time, Khan said that Trump was ”ignorant”, and risked alienating mainstream Muslims all over the world. When Khan became Mayor of London, Trump sent a congratulatory message to the new Mayor and said he would make an exception for Khan under his policy to ban Muslims. Khan rejected that offer, saying this was not about him, but about all his friends, family and Muslims all over the world who shared his views.
Trump was later quoted claiming to be smarter than Khan, and called for an IQ test in response to Khan’s attack on Trump as ignorant. Ever since then , the pair have been locked in a media feud that is only growing worse. Trump recently attacked Sadiq Khan’s comments when the London Mayor stated that there would be a visible presence of armed police, but the public should not be alarmed. Trump tweeted, ”7 dead and 48 injured, but Sadiq Khan says Londoners should not be alarmed’. Critics have pointed out that President Trump took his comments out of context, Khan’s spokesman saying that he was too busy to response to the ill informed comments of the president.
Trump later replied and referred to Khan’s response as a ”pathetic excuse” , prompting a further comment from Khan’s spokesperson that the London Mayor was focusing on working with the government and the security agents in ”reassuring Londoners and those who visit London”. The bitter exchange is further straining the relationship between the pair which is virtually irreversible after all the harsh words exchanged. Twitter users have generally come to the defense of Sadiq Khan, viewing the president’s comments as insensitive and inappropriate. Uk prime Minister, Theresa May has added her weight to the feud by saying ”Khan does a good job’, but falling short of criticizing the President for his comments. When confronted on what it would take for Theresa May to criticize Trump, she said ”I am not afraid to say when the President is wrong”.
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Bad Blood
The bad blood between Trump and Sadiq Khan is connected to the differences in their world view about Muslims, and how they have handled it. Khan as a Muslim felt obliged to defend his faith and the millions of worldwide fellow believers, but Trump takes a wholly different view. The U.S President has made no secret about his mistrust of Muslims and his desire to restrict their entry into the United States. The Supreme Court of America have blocked him twice, but the persevering president has not given up his goals, and today renewed his call for the American courts to uphold his ban on Muslim countries. Trump sent his condolences to the Prime Minister following the latest attack in London Bridge, but his subsequent attack only goes to make the ”special relationship” between Britain and America awkward. Theresa May is being put in a very difficult position during the heights of election period to criticize Trump or face criticism herself. The British prime minister should not have to be put in the situation because of a deep-seated dispute that she neither started nor engineered.
The feud between Sadiq Khan and Donald Trump should be nipped in the bud. The hostilities being displayed are damaging and requires action to prevent its recurrence.
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