‘People are being stabbed in the ass’: Trump says London is too dangerous, blames Mayor Sadiq Khan

US President Donald Trump slammed London Mayor Sadiq Khan and labelled him a “disaster”. He further claimed that London had become so dangerous that “people are being stabbed in the ass.”

In an interview with GB News, the U.S. president told host Bev Turner that his mother had once loved the city, but he argued that under the Labour mayor, things had changed.

Trump claimed there were now areas in London where even the police avoid going. Despite being offered no challenge on America’s gun violence record, Trump criticised Khan, calling him a “terrible, terrible mayor.”

The 55-year-old Labour politician of Pakistani heritage made history in May last year by becoming the first to be elected for a third consecutive term as Mayor of London.

This comes amid his ongoing feud with Trump, who has frequently targeted Khan, calling him the “worst” mayor in the world. In return, Khan has accused Trump of being “racist, sexist, misogynistic, and Islamophobic.”

Khan, who has served as London’s mayor since 2016, has clashed with Trump ever since the president’s 2015 campaign promise to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. In July, Trump remarked that Khan had “done a terrible job” and described him as a “nasty person.”

Who is Sadiq Khan?

Sadiq Aman Khan is a British politician who has served as Mayor of London since May 2016, making him the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital city.

A member of the Labour Party, he was re-elected in 2021 and again in May 2024, defeating the Conservative candidate, Susan Hall, with 43.8% of the vote in the first round.

Born in Tooting, south London, to a working-class Pakistani immigrant family, Khan is the fifth of eight children. His father was a bus driver and his mother a seamstress. He studied law at the University of North London and qualified as a human-rights solicitor, specialising in police misconduct cases.

From 1994 to 2006, he ran a successful legal practice and chaired the human-rights organisation Liberty (2000–2004).

Why is Khan under criticism in London?

Khan’s handling of crime, particularly violent crime, has been a focal point of criticism, especially from the Conservative opposition, where he is accused of allowing crime to rise significantly since 2016.

ULEZ expansion faced strong opposition and legal challenges, while his handling of crime, particularly knife crime, has drawn criticism despite falling homicide rates in recent years.

On the brighter side, as a mayor, Khan has focused on affordable housing (promising 40,000 council homes by 2030), freezing Transport for London fares (2016–2024), expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) city-wide in 2023 to reduce air pollution, and introducing the Hopper bus fare and Night Tube extensions.

(With inputs from agencies)