LONDON (AP) – The mayor of London says he doesn’t care about the repeated insults he has received from the president of the United States, asserting Tuesday that he “really couldn’t be bothered about what Donald Trump tweets.”
Mayor Sadiq Khan, who made history as the British capital’s first Muslim leader, has repeatedly been targeted by Trump on Twitter. After Saturday’s attacks in the London Bridge area that claimed seven lives, for example, Trump panned the mayor for telling the public there was “no reason to be alarmed” by the atrocity.
In fact, Khan was referring in his televised remarks to the presence of armed officers on the capital’s streets. When the British press ridiculed Trump’s out-of-context quote, the president returned to Twitter to accuse the media of buying the mayor’s “pathetic excuse.”
Reporters repeatedly asked Khan for his thoughts on Trump outside the headquarters of London’s Ambulance Service, where he observed a minute of silence Tuesday to honor of the victims of the attacks.
The 46-year-old mayor, who assumed office in May 2016 after serving in Parliament, generally praised the “special relationship” between the United States and Britain. He calmly explained his opposition to Trump’s proposed travel ban on visitors from several Muslim countries. But he dropped a hint of annoyance when asked about Trump’s social media jibes.