London Mayor Sadiq Khan shot back at President Donald Trump's criticism in an escalating feud on Monday, saying the English capital won't let anyone "divide our community."
Speaking to the BBC after a vigil for the victims of a deadly Saturday truck-and-knife terror attack on the London Bridge and in nearby Borough Market, Khan said "we've got to recognize that some people want to divide our communities, some people thrive on fueling division."
"That's not me, that's not the London I know, and we aren't going to allow anybody, whether it's Donald Trump or anybody else to divide our community."
Earlier Monday, Trump slammed Khan’s response to the terrorist assault that killed at least seven people and wounded nearly 50.
Trump tweeted:
Then on Sunday, Trump attacked Khan's warning to Londoners to not be "alarmed" by a larger police presence in the city,
Khan's spokesman said he "has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump's ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context" the mayor's remarks.
The Conference of Mayors, representing more than 1,400 U.S. cities, also backed Khan with a statement Sunday.
"He has risen above this crisis of death and destruction, as mayors continue to do, to alleviate fear, to bring comfort to his people of London," the mayors said.
The cross-Atlantic criticism is nothing new: Khan, a Muslim, has previously been critical of Trump over his proposed temporary travel ban on six mostly Muslim countries, the BBC reported.
And during the presidential campaign, when Trump first announced the ban, Khan told the BBC he hoped Trump would "lose badly," adding that he was a "buffoon."