Khan You Feel the Love Tonight? London Mayor claims Trump has a crush!

Khan suggests his contention with Trump is less feud, more infatuation

One of the most turbulent relationships in transatlantic politics is between London Mayor Sadiq Khan and U.S. President Donald Trump. For nearly a decade, the pair have traded insults across the ocean, their feud fluctuating between playground squabbling and sharp political attacks. Most recently, Khan quipped that Trump may have a “crush” on him, with Trump’s fixation on the London Mayor emulating that of an enemies-to-lovers trope. Yet judging by Trump’s most recent swipes, there may be trouble in paradise. 

The pair’s animosity began in late 2015, predating Trump’s first term as president. Then still a candidate, Trump announced his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US as part of his campaign. Khan, an MP for Tooting at the time, branded him a “buffoon” for his policies and expressed hope that Trump would “lose badly” in the upcoming US election. For most politicians, the exchange would end there. For Trump, this marked the beginning of a drawn-out obsession. By 2019, with Trump having won the election and subsequently in the White House, the feud had escalated into regular public sparring. Hours before landing in London for his very first state visit, he made multiple posts on Twitter/X calling Khan “dumb” and a “stone cold loser.” Khan retorted that the President was behaving “like an 11-year-old.” 

This pettiness has persisted into Trump’s second presidency. His historic encore state visit to the UK, an honour never granted before to a U.S. President, became yet another stage for their feud. Shortly before departing the UK, Trump told reporters that Khan had sought an invitation to the Windsor Castle banquet hosted by King Charles, only to be denied at Trump’s request. The claim was swiftly contradicted by the BBC, who reported Khan had neither sought nor expected an invitation. What might have been remembered as a ceremonial moment in U.S.-UK relations, instead doubled as another chapter in the Trump-Khan saga. Weeks later at the UN general assembly, Trump took things a step further, suggesting that Khan wanted to impose Sharia Law in the UK before declaring him “among the worst mayors in the world.” Even by Trump’s standards, this was an extraordinary stretch, with his accusations as baseless as they were inflammatory. Instead of aggressively biting back, Khan leaned into humour, deciding the best explanation for such relentless attention was simple – Trump has a crush! For observers, the situation feels less like diplomacy and more like a messy reality TV plot. Even still, Khan’s quip holds power, as it reframes Trump’s fixation as comically petty rather than politically powerful. Trump continues to spotlight Khan at key milestones in his presidency – like state visits and UN appearances – more so than any other political figure. In politics, this level of attention is as close as it gets to a love letter. If the relationship is ever to blossom, it will take more than state banquets and online jabs. Some serious couples’ therapy might be in order. Until then, the Khan-Trump saga remains both a political spectacle and an unlikely love story that shows no sign of ending. 

Photo Credits: Janay Boulos