Following the London Bridge attack on Saturday night, an outpouring of support has reached the UK from across the world. The Eiffel Tower went dark. Flags were flown at half-mast. World leaders and international public figures from Justin Trudeau to Hillary Clinton used Twitter to pay their respects to the seven people who died.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump instead used Twitter to rip into London’s mayor Sadiq Khan.
After Khan gave a statement early on Sunday that “Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There’s no reason to be alarmed,” Trump responded by tweeting the following.
At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017
This set off a cold war between Trump and Khan, with a series of angry retorts passing between them.
The London mayor’s office responded to say that he had “more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks”. To which the US President inevitably responded:
Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
Khan then went on British television to suggest that Trump should not be welcomed to the UK for a state visit.
The British Muslim told channel 4 news that the UK should not “roll out the red carpet” given that the US President’s “policies go against everything we stand for.”
When asked “what do you think he’s got against you?” Khan responded that he had spent the last few days busy helping with the response to the attack and that he just hasn’t “got time to respond to tweets from Donald Trump.”
It is not the first time a call has been made to rescind Trump’s invitation to visit the UK, as two million people signed a petition in January calling for a temporary ‘POTUS ban’.
Many in the UK have been angered by the apparent aggression against the London Mayor, just as his city was facing dark times.
Theresa May has come under pressure to condemn the American leader’s harsh words. When repeatedly asked on Monday if Trump had been wrong to target Khan, the Prime Minister told reporters “Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it’s wrong to say anything else – he’s doing a good job.”
Other famous faces have been less cryptic in their rejection of Trump’s behavior towards Khan.
Mayor Sadiq Khan is doing an extraordinary job supporting Londoners in a time of pain. President Trump's attack on him is unacceptable.
— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) June 5, 2017
Very sad to see Mr Trump attack London Mayor on a day for sympathy not criticism. The world needs to work together, not create more division
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) June 5, 2017
Some have even suggested that Trump’s decision to single out Sadiq Khan, a Muslim, for criticism was a reflection of Trump’s Islamophobic attitudes.
(2) Trump's more than dog-whistling to Islamophobes with his tweeted lies about the mayor of London; he's openly spewing anti-Muslim hatred.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) June 5, 2017
In fact, Trump’s tweets contradicted statements made by the US embassy in London, resulting in the acting ambassador to the UK, Lewis Lukens, receiving a barrage of online abuse from Trump supporters.
I commend the strong leadership of the @MayorofLondon as he leads the city forward after this heinous attack. – LLukens 3/3 https://t.co/p4dDZuCpyO
— U.S. Embassy London (@USAinUK) June 4, 2017
Still, some people have taken the issue more lightheartedly, suggesting that Trump’s tweets were like something out of a DC comic book.
If you replace Sadiq Khan's name with "Superman" in Trump's tweets about the London Bridge attack you end up with Lex Luthor's Twitter feed pic.twitter.com/L1dsgeWfqq
— Ryan Broderick (@broderick) June 5, 2017
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