06 June, 2017
President Donald Trump broke with decades of diplomatic protocol by labeling London's mayor "pathetic" for his response to an Islamic State attack there Saturday night.
It came after Mr Khan warned the citizens of London that there would be an increased armed police presence on the streets over the coming days, adding that there was "no reason to be alarmed" by the heightened security.
"Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement", Trump wrote on Twitter this morning.
In a Sunday tweet, Trump mischaracterized Khan's remarks by suggesting the mayor had said there was "no reason to be alarmed" about the attack itself.
During the USA presidential election campaign, Khan was among many people who spoke out against Trump's proposed ban on Muslims entering the United (Shenzhen: 000925.SZ - news) States, an idea he said would play into the hands of extremists.
Trump said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) should have fought for his original travel ban order, instead of the "watered down, politically correct version" submitted to the Supreme Court. "If we don't get smart it will only get worse".
President Trump denounces the recent terrorist attack in London, vowing he'll do whatever it takes to protect the country from such threats.
But over the weekend, his office issued a statement tersely declining to respond to Trump's "ill-informed tweet".
On Sunday, a spokesman for the London mayor said he was working with the police, emergency services and government to coordinate the response to the attack, and had "more important things to do" than to respond to Trump.
Trump ended with: "Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now?" He forcefully referred to his controversial executive order on immigration - that seeks to block people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the USA - as a "travel ban". He called the courts, which have blocked two versions of the travel ban, "slow and political". "London stands in defiance against this cowardly attack and our city and our people and our values and our way of live", he said. "We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!"
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said he was concerned about Trump's call for a travel ban "even though the courts have continued to turn that down".
Trump criticized the mayor without understanding the context.
After his election a year ago, Khan tweeted criticism of then-candidate Trump's rhetoric, saying his "ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe".
"I've been very clear, I've been very happy to say when I think President Trump is wrong - to have taken America out of the climate change agreement, the Paris agreement", May said.
