London Mayor Sadiq Khan dismisses Trump Jr.’s Twitter jab following attack

London Mayor Sadiq Khan declined to respond to an insult from U.S. President Trump’s son hours after a terrorist attack at the Houses of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday.

In an interview on CNN the following morning, Khan was asked whether he had a reaction to Donald Trump Jr.’s tweet touting a months-old interview in which the mayor said that the threat of terrorist attacks was “part and parcel of living in a big city.”

“You have to be kidding me?!” Trump Jr. wrote.

Trump Jr. mischaracterized Khan’s statements as if he had said that terrorism is an inevitable consequence of living in a big city and that nothing could be done. On the contrary, Khan had told the Evening Standard that “part and parcel of living in a great global city” is remaining vigilant, being prepared for potential attacks and supporting the city police and security services.

Instead of commenting on Trump Jr., Khan went on to clarify to CNN what he meant in the interview.

“I’m not going to respond to a tweet from Donald Trump Jr. — I’ve been doing more important things over the past 24 hours,” Khan replied. “What I do know is that the threat level in London and across the country is severe. That means an attack is highly likely,” he added.

Donald Trump Jr., Sadiq Khan
Donald Trump Jr., Sadiq Khan

He recalled a visit to New York City last September during a nonfatal terrorist attack that included bombs planted in Manhattan and New Jersey. Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, said terrorists hate that diverse communities live together in peace and respect each other in New York and comparable metropolitan areas throughout Europe, including Paris, London, Brussels, Istanbul, Madrid and London.

“We’ve got a thriving democracy in London. We’ve got a situation where Parliament is returning to normal today, City Hall is returning to normal today, tourists are returning to London today, businesses are returning to normal today — just the thing that the terrorists hate,” Khan said. “And I’m not going to allow terrorists to divide London, to destroy our way of life. And we haven’t in the past. We’re not currently, and we’re not in the future.”

Trump’s tweet incited instant backlash from those who felt it was inappropriate to use the tragedy to bash the city’s mayor so soon after the attack. For instance, a British member of Parliament, Wes Streeting, tweeted, “You use a terrorist attack on our city to attack London’s Mayor for your own political gain. You’re a disgrace.”

In his CNN interview, Khan noted that Londoners will be holding a vigil in Trafalgar Square for anyone wanting to show respect for the three victims who were killed in the terrorist attacks and their families and show solidarity with the injured.

Though he didn’t have anything to say to Trump Jr., he did have a message for terrorists: “You will not succeed in cowing us. We remain united, and we are the greatest city in the world.”

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