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Trump calls London mayor a 'stone cold loser' ahead of U.K. visit

President Trump arrived in the United Kingdom on Monday for a three-day state visit. And just before he landed, Trump took to Twitter to attack London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

".@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," the president tweeted. "He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me."

"Kahn [sic] reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job — only half his height," Trump continued. "In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now!"

President Trump waves as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport in England on Monday. (Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)
President Trump waves as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport in England on Monday. (Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

Trump was apparently responding to Khan's harsh criticism of him. In an editorial, titled "It’s un-British to roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump" and published in the Guardian Saturday, Khan said Trump was part of a growing global threat of far-right politics.

In response, Khan's office told the BBC that "childish insults should be beneath the president of the United States."

Khan and Trump have exchanged insults before. Khan, London's first Muslim mayor, was fiercely critical of Trump's campaign proposal to bar Muslims from entering the U.S. Trump later challenged Khan to an IQ test. As president, Trump also railed against Khan after a terror attack in the British capital, taking his comments urging the public not to be alarmed by increased police presence out of context.

The president then complained that the only cable news channel he could get in London is CNN.

Trump's tweets on Monday came just hours before the president and first lady, Melania Trump, were welcomed at Buckingham Palace by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, before having lunch with Queen Elizabeth.

Prince Harry was expected to attend the lunch, according to Buckingham Palace, but not his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, who is on maternity leave from her official duties as a member of the royal family following the birth of her son, Archie.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Markle, called Trump a “misogynist” and suggested she'd move to Canada if he were elected president.

When asked about her criticism in a recent interview with the Sun newspaper, Trump responded: “I didn’t know that she was nasty.”

On Sunday, the president denied using the term "nasty" to describe Markle.

"I never called Meghan Markle 'nasty,'" Trump tweeted. "Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! Will @CNN, @nytimes and others apologize? Doubt it!"

Trump's comments, however, were captured by on tape. His campaign even shared the audio with the public while denying he used the term to describe Markle.

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