London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for a tougher government position against US President Donald Trump and his “playground” behavior as he stays in the UK for a three-day visit.
“I’m hoping that Theresa May stands up for our country and does say boo to a goose,” Khan said on Tuesday.
The comments came after Trump called Khan, a senior Labour Party lawmaker who has run London since 2016, as a “stone cold loser” over his alleged failure to tackle rising rates of crime in the city.
Trump’s insulting tweet, which was posted just as he arrived in the UK on Monday, came after Khan criticized the American president for his divisive policies.
.@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly “nasty” to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019
Khan said on Tuesday that Trump was acting like children and there was a need for the British government to challenge his ideas on women and minorities.
“And it should be a source of concern to us that Donald Trump is the poster boy for the far-right movement around the world and actually some of the things that he has done as president are deeply objectionable, far more objectionable than silly tweets he might send,” said Khan.
Khan was among the main figures boycotting a dinner hosted by the Queen for Trump. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and parliament speaker John Bercow also decided not to attend the event in Buckingham Palace on Monday.
“What shouldn’t happen is a state banquet and a state visit with the red carpet rolled out. I think it’s inappropriate. I think those visits should be reserved for leaders who have done something and deserve that," he said.
Protests against Trump’s visit to the UK culminated in a massive demonstration on Tuesday in London where senior politicians like Corbyn addressed the crowd.