By Ben Emos | Tuesday, October 21, 2025 | 6 min read
Donald Trump has once again returned to familiar ground: picking a fight with a Muslim political figure. This time, it’s not only London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan who’s in his crosshairs, but also New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a rising Democratic star whose campaign has begun to gain real momentum.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to the United States, Trump said he “didn’t want” Sadiq Khan at the state banquet hosted by the King at Windsor Castle. “I think the Mayor of London Khan is among the worst mayors in the world, and we have some bad ones,” Trump declared. “I think he’s done a terrible job. Crime in London is through the roof. I asked that he not be there. He wanted to be there, as I understand. I didn’t want him.”
In fact, Khan was not invited to the banquet at all and had no expectation of attending. A source close to the mayor dismissed Trump’s remarks, describing his politics as “one of fear and division,” and pointing out that London is a “global success story—open, dynamic, and safer than many major U.S. cities.” The same source noted that London remains a city where record numbers of Americans are choosing to live, which stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s claims.
This verbal sparring between Trump and Khan is nothing new. Their feud dates back to 2015, when Trump called for a Muslim travel ban and Khan, then a rising figure in British politics, condemned the idea outright. A year later, Trump went so far as to challenge Khan to an IQ test, a moment that many in the UK saw as petty and personal. Over the years, the attacks have continued.
In 2017, Trump criticized Khan’s handling of the London Bridge terror attack. When Trump made his first state visit to the UK in 2019, Khan allowed the now-infamous “Trump baby” blimp to float above London, a stunt that quickly became a global symbol of their clash. Trump responded by calling Khan a “stone-cold loser” and a “disaster” on immigration.
Their most recent exchange comes on the heels of another outburst in July 2025, when Trump, standing beside Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, called Khan “a nasty person.” Starmer immediately pushed back: “He’s a friend of mine, actually.”
Trump’s Attacks On Zohran Mamdani
But this time, the feud doesn’t end in London. A nearly identical line of attack has begun unfolding in New York. Trump has started taking aim at Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate who, like Khan, is Muslim and vocal about progressive policies. Born in Uganda and raised in New York, Mamdani has built a campaign focused on equity, housing, and immigration reform—issues that make him a direct foil to Trump’s brand of politics.
The language Trump uses against Mamdani echoes the tone he has used against Khan for years: sharp, personal, and inflammatory. Rather than engaging on policy, Trump frames his targets as weak or incompetent, while stoking fears about crime and immigration. At the same time, he largely ignores scrutiny of his own crimes. This pattern isn’t subtle—it’s a deliberate playbook that has served him well politically, especially among voters who respond to fear-based narratives.
Trump’s relationship with Muslim leaders and figures has always been complicated. When foreign governments like Saudi Arabia or Qatar flatter him or engage in business ventures with his family, he often speaks warmly of them. Even more recently, his inner circle has reportedly pursued opportunities in Indonesia. But when individuals of Muslim background living in Western democracies criticize him, Trump’s tone shifts drastically. That contrast is now on full display with his remarks about both Khan and Mamdani.
For Khan, these exchanges have become almost routine. He has repeatedly said that Trump’s rhetoric is divisive and damaging—not just politically, but socially. His office issued a restrained but pointed response to Trump’s latest comments, saying that no amount of insults can change the fact that London remains “a thriving global city that values openness.”
In New York, Mamdani represents a new kind of political threat to Trump’s vision of the world. As a young, outspoken progressive candidate and the potential first Muslim mayor of America’s largest city, Mamdani symbolizes a changing political landscape. Trump’s attacks, critics argue, are not just personal but calculated to tap into cultural anxieties ahead of a high-stakes election year.
The similarities between Trump’s attacks on Khan and Mamdani are hard to miss. Both are children of immigrants. Both are Muslim. Both hold or are seeking leadership roles in major global cities. And both have challenged Trump’s worldview publicly. For Trump, these aren’t just political opponents—they’re symbolic targets in a larger cultural battle.
Supporters of Trump see his words as blunt, unapologetic speech—proof that he’s not afraid to “say what others won’t.” But his critics view it very differently: as part of a pattern of identity-based politics meant to divide, distract, and energize his base. What started as an attack on a foreign mayor has seamlessly crossed the Atlantic to become an attack on a rising American political figure.
Trump has spent nearly a decade attacking Sadiq Khan. Now Zohran Mamdani is finding himself on a similar path. The names may change, but the strategy doesn’t. It’s the same script: paint opponents as dangerous, cast cities as unsafe, and turn identity into a weapon. Whether this familiar playbook will still work in a changing political climate remains to be seen—but one thing is clear: Trump has chosen his next target, and he’s sticking to the tactics he knows best.