On Monday afternoon, as London prepared to hold a vigil in memory of those killed in the weekend’s terror attack at London Bridge, the US president took to Twitter. Not to express solidarity with the city or offer condolences, but instead to continue a feud with its mayor, Sadiq Khan.
Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
Social media users in Britain were not about to take this ill-timed insult lightly.
Londoners when Trump comes for Sadiq Khan pic.twitter.com/VEdpBVng8J
— Josh (@J_Manasa) June 5, 2017
CONSPIRACY THEORY: Donald Trump has £50 on Sadiq Khan as the next Labour leader and is working as hard as he can to make him popular
— Tom Chivers (@TomChivers) June 5, 2017
If you replace Sadiq Khan's name with "Superman" in Trump's tweets about the London Bridge attack you end up with Lex Luthor's Twitter feed pic.twitter.com/L1dsgeWfqq
— Ryan Broderick (@broderick) June 5, 2017
But maybe it wasn’t the British replies that truly got to the heart of the issue, but these American Twitter users.
If something happened to the USA right now, the UK would extend nothing to us but love. You're so broken you can't give anything but bile.
— Jon Bershad (@JonBershad) June 5, 2017
I can't imagine how the citizens of London are feeling right now. We are making enemies of our friends.
— Hank Green (@hankgreen) June 5, 2017
The hashtag #IamWithSadiqKhan sprang up, with people expressing support for Khan from both sides of the Atlantic.
London is the greatest city in the world. It is vibrant and diverse. It is my 2nd home and I am proud of its Mayor. #IamWithSadiqKhan
— Meghan (@meghanchel) June 5, 2017
Trump should be offering support at this time, not petty criticism and self righteous propaganda.
— Rhi (@Pompasaurus1) June 5, 2017
🇺🇸❤️🇬🇧#IamWithSadiqKhan #IAmWithBritain
I am a Londoner. I live in the USA. I have dual citizenship. I denounce terror. I denounce prejudice. I denounce Trump. #IAmWithSadiqKhan
— Tony Fletcher (@tonyfletcher) June 5, 2017
Some rightwing supporters of Donald Trump claimed on social media that on the streets of London people were chanting “Donald Trump, we love you” after his criticism of Khan. The false claim was tweeted out by Sarah Palin among others and had also been pushed as a recent event on Reddit’s r/The_Donald.
The video footage being circulated is actually from March this year, and was taken on a demo staged by racist far-right group Britain First.
London today! "DONALD TRUMP WE LOVE YOU!" pic.twitter.com/AOryV4RtND
— Paul Golding (@GoldingBF) March 18, 2017
The jokes are funny, and the transatlantic support is cheering for Londoners at a difficult time, but there was a very serious point at the heart of it, encapsulated in this tweet by the BBC’s Jon Sopel.
This is extraordinary. Can you imagine after 9/11 a British Prime Minister going after Mayor Giuliani like this? #londonattack https://t.co/RZ33CgkvGk
— Jon Sopel (@BBCJonSopel) June 5, 2017
It is emphasised by a recently launched bot that reproduces Trump’s tweets as if they were press releases from the White House.
A statement by the President: pic.twitter.com/ekqD5bFRij
— Real Press Sec. (@RealPressSecBot) June 5, 2017
And it marks a stark contrast with how Trump reacted to a terror attack in another British city with a Labour mayor just a couple of weeks ago.
Both of these men are left-wing British Mayors who had their cities attacked by terror. Trump attacked one but not the other. Guess which. pic.twitter.com/QRKfxwLSLU
— John Shafthauer (@hourlyterrier) June 5, 2017
Compare Trump's statements re Putin, Erdogan, Sisi, Saudis (fawning) with statements re Mayor Sadiq Khan (withering). Telling contrast.
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) June 5, 2017
But more than anything, Trump’s tweet makes a poor contrast with the messages that London’s elected mayor has sent to the people of the United States during their times of national mourning.
I stand with the City of Orlando against hate and bigotry. My thoughts are with all the victims of this horrific attack #lovewins
— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) June 12, 2016
It might not play too badly for Khan in the long term.
Khan's re-campaign will consist entirely of tweets of Trump attacking him. https://t.co/WVAUiDveYg
— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt) June 5, 2017
And he’s busy, anyway.
Spokeswoman for Sadiq Khan on latest Trump tweet: "The Mayor is focused on dealing with Saturday’s horrific and cowardly attack."
— Kevin Schofield (@PolhomeEditor) June 5, 2017
