(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump is a persona non grata in Britain.
Ever since Theresa May extended an invitation to the president to come visit the Queen, he has rankled the nation with his off-the-cuff comments about terror attacks in Britain and now with his latest provocation: the sharing of far-right videos and the lashing out against the prime minister for telling him he was wrong.
“I have previously called on Theresa May to cancel her ill-judged offer of a state visit to President Trump,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement released by office. “After this latest incident, it is increasingly clear that any official visit at all from President Trump to Britain would not be welcomed.”
Muslim and Proud, London Mayor Won't Be Cowed by Trump or Terror
As far back as January, an online petition calling for Trump to be prevented from making an official state visit had shot past 1 million signatures. The topic is a tricky one for May -- who needs to maintain the veneer of a “special relationship” with a historic ally whose leader is unpredictable and has put her in awkward diplomatic situations.
Trump and Khan have history. It began after the terror attacks on London Bridge when the president criticized Khan's response: “Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his ‘no reason to be alarmed' statement,” the president tweeted.
Khan has by turns ignored or bypassed the string of attacks. “I'm unclear what his beef is with me,” the mayor has said while also being clear that he has better things to do than engage in a war of words with the president.
Back in September, when it appeared that Trump had betrayed intelligence details about an explosion in an underground train, Khan simply said “I've simply been too busy this morning to look at my Twitter.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson in London at fjackson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net, Andrew Atkinson, Thomas Penny
©2017 Bloomberg L.P.
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