Donald Trump has claimed he blocked Sadiq Khan from attending the Windsor Castle state banquet.
The US president took a dig at the London mayor as he left the UK after his controversial state visit.
Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One, Trump said he ‘didn’t want [Khan] there’.
However, Metro understands that Khan had no intention of attending the event and that he didn’t expect an invite.
Now Khan has hit back after Trump accused him of being one of ‘the worst mayors in the world.’
A source close to the mayor told Metro: ‘Trump’s politics is one of fear and division. This includes talking down our great capital city.
‘London is a global success story. It’s open, dynamic and safer than major US cities.
‘Perhaps that’s one of the reasons record numbers of Americans are choosing to make London their home.’
It comes after Trump’s withering appraisal of Khan’s time in office.
The president said: ‘I think the Mayor of London, Khan, is among the worst mayors in the world, and we have some bad ones.
‘I think he’s done a terrible job. Crime in London is through the roof.
‘I asked that he not be [at the banquet]. He wanted to be there, as I understand, I didn’t want him.’
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It’s not the first time the pair has traded words.
In 2015, Khan criticised Trump after he said Muslims should be banned from travelling to the US.
Khan, who was a mayoral candidate at the time, said ahead of the 2016 US presidential race that he hopes ‘Trump loses, badly.’
Trump commented on the labor mayor shortly after his helicopter, Marine One, made an emergency landing at an airfield.
Marine One, which was carrying Trump and Melania, experienced a hydraulic issue before reaching Stansted Airport, the White House said.
Trump made a joke about the safety scare after boarding the US president’s official jet: ‘Fly safely. You know why I say that? Because I’m on the flight.
‘Otherwise, I wouldn’t care.’
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