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Donald Trump, the first president since James Madison to oversee a decline in relations between America and England, is currently in London after a formal invitation from Queen Elizabeth. Trump also has a particular dislike of Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first ethnic minority mayor and the first Muslim Mayor of London, who has a weighty record of criticizing the American president.
While Trump isn't going to make any public appearances other than a single press meet-and-greet at the outskirts of the city, this is his first time in the UK capital, and Time Out took the opportunity to ask Mayor Khan, "If you had a day to show Donald Trump the best of our city, what would he see?"
"I'd take him to the most diverse parts of London," Khan responded. "I'd take him to parts of London where you can be who you are — be not just tolerated, but respected, celebrated, and embraced."
Celebrating the character of your city rather than indulging in an easy political dig is a classy move. He continued:
"I'd want him to meet some of our wonderful LGBT+ community in London. I'd want him to meet women in positions of power and influence who aren't fetishized and treated poorly. I'd want him to meet people who are Muslims but who are proud Londoners; people who have been successful in London but not embarrassed to be Muslim as well. I'd want him to meet the very best of our city."
Khan and Trump don't get along. Setting aside President Trump's fixation on attacking Muslim immigrants and his somewhat spotty record on the respectful treatment of women, Trump once mocked Khan for attempting to calm his constituents in the immediate aftermath of a terror attack in his city.
The last time Trump had been invited to England, he bailed on the trip at the last minute. Which is just as well since the protests were expected to be massive. Khan's response back in January:
Now that he's actually buzzed by the city in a fancy warplane, the protests were indeed massive, starting with whole schools:
...to whole neighborhoods...
...to a massive action at the ambassador's quarters where he was expected to spend the night.
But we couldn't close a piece about Trump's visit to London without a visit to The Balloon, which our genteel Mayor from earlier allowed to float above the city.
As well as a specific cornfield near the ambassador's house with a very special message.
Not everybody can be as classy as Khan.
H/T: Upworthy, TimeOut