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Sadiq Khan has invited president-elect Donald Trump to celebrate at Pride festival in London with him, as well as encouraging the Republican to join him at Friday prayers at a mosque.
The London mayor, who had a long-running row with Mr Trump during his first term in the White House, was asked at Mayor’s Questions on Thursday whether he would work with the Trump administration to encourage investment into the capital.
Responding, the mayor said: “I would like to use this opportunity to invite president-elect Trump to next year’s Pride in London.
“I also invite him to attend Friday prayers with me – any Friday he wants to come to London – or a Hindu temple, or a Sikh gurdwara, or a Jewish synagogue.”
He added: “I think it’s really important to share the joys of the greatest city in the world with the president-elect and I look forward to doing just that when he comes to the UK.”
London Pride is attended annually by tens of thousands of people, showcasing LGBTQ+ solidarity.
Last time Mr Trump visited London, Mr Khan authorised a blow-up blimp of the then-president portrayed as a baby to be flown over the capital.
Campaigners raised almost £18,000 to pay for the 6m-high inflatable, which was flown over Parliament Square in 2018.
While most senior figures in the Labour Party have sought to build bridges with the Trump administration, Mr Khan has taken a more cold-shouldered approach, declining to congratulate the Republican on his election win.
While Sir Keir Starmer complimented Mr Trump on his “historic election victory”, the London mayor issued a more disparaging statement, saying the result shows “progress is not inevitable”.
Mr Khan said Londoners would be “anxious about the outcome”, adding that the capital “is – and will always be – for everyone”.
“We will always be pro-women, pro-diversity, pro-climate and pro-human rights,” he said.
The ongoing row between the two politicians began after the London mayor criticised the president’s pledge to ban Muslims from the US, describing the policy as “ignorant”.
During his first term in office, Mr Trump described the mayor as “a stone-cold loser” and “very dumb”.
In an interview with the High Performance podcast, broadcast last week, Mr Khan claimed the president-elect singled him out as a result of his skin colour and religion.
Asked about the ongoing row, he said: “It’s personal, let’s be frank. If I wasn’t this colour skin, if I wasn’t a practising Muslim, he wouldn’t have come for me.
“He wasn’t coming for me because I’m five foot six. He’s coming for me because of – let’s be frank – my ethnicity and my religion, so it’s incredibly personal to me.
“It affects me, my family. What worries me though, it’s not about me and my family – it’s about the fact that he’s the leader of the free world.”
