Sadiq Khan has described Donald Trump as a “six-foot-three child in the White House” in an ongoing war of words with the US president.
The mayor of London made the comment in a room of teachers at the Together for Education event at Central Hall in Westminster on Saturday.
Khan joked that he had made sure to switch his phone off. He said: “For those of you that have your phones on, if somebody starts tweeting about me – a 6ft 3 child in the White House – can you let me know?”
It is the latest insult to be fired between Khan and Trump, in what has been a long-running feud. The US president called Khan a “stone cold loser”, mocked his height and misspelt his name in a tweet sent as he touched down in Air Force One for a state visit to the UK earlier this month.
.@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly “nasty” to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019
The US president previously described London’s mayor as a “disaster” and called him a “national disgrace who is destroying the city of London”, slamming Khan’s record on crime in the capital. Earlier this week, Tory leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt said he fully agreed with Trump’s assessment of Khan’s knife-crime record.
Khan described Trump as a “poster boy for racists” and remarked that the president appears “obsessed” with him.
The mayor’s remark at the Together for Education event – a one day celebration – prompted laughter, cheers and applause from those gathered. The event, run by the National Education Union, will include talks from headteachers, governors and parents about school funding. Schools have lost out on £5.4bn since 2015.
The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is also due to speak at the event.
An analysis by the NEU published in April found that special needs provision in England had lost out on £1.2bn because of shortfalls in funding increases from central government since 2015.
Speaking at the event, Khan said Britain’s next prime minister must ensure schools are given proper funding.
He said: “Schools are at financial breaking point, teachers have been systematically undervalued, we have a great crisis in recruitment and retention, and teachers are having to spend their own money to ensure that children have the materials they need.
“My message to the next prime minister today is simple: enough is enough.
This cannot continue. It’s time to give our education system and the next generation the investment they deserve.”
