Donald Trump reveals the one person he blocked from attending state banquet in UK
During his recent state visit to the United Kingdom, Donald Trump claimed he made sure that one specific person was not allowed to attend the royal banquet at Windsor Castle.
The event, hosted in St George’s Hall with around 160 high-profile guests including Apple’s Tim Cook, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, was one of the highlights of the visit. But Trump told reporters afterward that he insisted London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, be excluded from the guest list.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on his way back to the United States, Trump described Khan as “among the worst mayors in the world” and accused him of being a disaster on immigration while letting crime in London rise. “I asked that he not be there,” Trump said. “He wanted to be there, as I understand, I didn’t want him.”
This was just the latest chapter in the long-running feud between Trump and Khan. The clashes between the two began in 2015, when Khan criticized Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from traveling to the U.S. Since then, their relationship has spiraled into a series of sharp exchanges.
Trump once challenged Khan to take an IQ test and later accused him of mishandling the 2017 London Bridge terror attack. In response to Trump’s first state visit in 2019, Khan gave permission for the infamous “Trump baby” blimp to fly over London, a move that made headlines worldwide. Trump fired back by calling Khan a “stone-cold loser.”
More recently, Trump labeled Khan “a nasty person” during a press conference in Scotland, only to be interrupted by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who defended the mayor by calling him a friend.
For his part, Khan has consistently dismissed Trump’s attacks. A spokesperson close to him responded to Trump’s latest claim by saying the former president thrives on “fear and division” and that London remains a global city that is “open, dynamic and safer than major U.S. cities.” They also pointed out that record numbers of Americans are choosing to make London their home.
Trump’s second state visit was not without controversy beyond his feud with Khan. Reports suggested that King Charles grew visibly impatient with him at times, and thousands of protesters filled Parliament Square to denounce his presence in the country.
The visit also saw a shocking stunt when activists projected images of Trump alongside convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto Windsor Castle just hours before the royal banquet.
Despite the official purpose of reinforcing U.S.–UK ties, Trump’s trip became as much about spectacle, protests, and personal grudges as it was about diplomacy. His decision to single out Khan once again and ensure the mayor stayed away from the banquet only highlighted how deep and enduring their rivalry has become.
