London was still dealing with the aftermath of a deadly terrorist attack when President Donald Trump turned his attention toward an unusual target: the mayor of the city that had just been attacked.
On the night of June 3, three attackers drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before continuing into Borough Market, where they attacked people with knives. Eight victims ultimately died and dozens were injured. Armed police shot and killed all three attackers within minutes.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the attack in unequivocal terms.
Khan described the attackers as “barbaric cowards,” expressed anger over the killings, praised the emergency services and urged Londoners to remain calm and vigilant.
He also prepared residents for something they were going to see across London in the days ahead: substantially more police officers, including armed officers.
Khan explained that Londoners should not be alarmed by that increased police presence.
Trump seized on those words.
“At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!’” Trump wrote on Twitter.
But that was not what Khan had said.
Khan wasn't telling Londoners there was no reason to be alarmed about terrorism. He was telling them not to interpret the sudden appearance of additional armed police throughout the city as evidence that another attack was underway.
Independent fact-checkers reviewing Khan's complete remarks reached the same conclusion: Trump's characterization removed the crucial context from the mayor's statement.
Attacking the Mayor While London Mourned
The timing made the confrontation particularly striking.
London was dealing with dead and wounded civilians, an active terrorism investigation and a citywide security response.
Instead of limiting his public response to expressions of support for one of America's closest allies, Trump used the attack to criticize London's mayor and promote his own domestic political arguments.
“We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people,” Trump wrote.
Trump also used the London attack to renew his argument for his administration's travel restrictions targeting several Muslim-majority countries, which at the time were tied up in American courts.
He even inserted himself into the American gun debate, observing that the London attackers had used knives and a vehicle rather than firearms.
Khan's office initially declined to engage in a prolonged fight with the American president.
A spokesman said the mayor was occupied coordinating with police, emergency services and the British government and had “more important things to do” than respond to what the office called Trump's ill-informed characterization of his remarks.
Trump did not let the matter end there.
Trump Doubles Down
The following morning, rather than acknowledging that Khan had been referring to the increased police presence, Trump attacked him again.
Trump called Khan's explanation a “pathetic excuse” and accused the mainstream media of attempting to protect the mayor.
By then, there was little ambiguity about the original statement.
Khan's remarks were publicly available. His office had explained their meaning. News organizations had reviewed the complete comments.
The issue was not whether Khan had spoken the words Trump quoted.
He had.
The issue was what those words referred to.
They referred to police officers.
Trump presented them as though they referred to terrorism.
Theresa May Defends Khan
The dispute eventually forced British Prime Minister Theresa May into the uncomfortable position of publicly defending London's mayor against the president of Britain's closest military and diplomatic ally.
“I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job, and it's wrong to say anything else,” May told reporters.
The episode was particularly awkward because the United States and United Kingdom have long described their diplomatic partnership as a “special relationship.”
Yet only days after Trump had angered European governments by announcing America's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, the president was now publicly attacking the mayor of the British capital while the city was recovering from a terrorist attack.
Even America's diplomatic representation in Britain struck a markedly different tone.
Acting U.S. Ambassador Lewis Lukens publicly praised Khan's “strong leadership” following the attack, effectively leaving the American president and America's representatives in London delivering very different messages.
A Pattern Takes Shape
The confrontation was another early demonstration of how Trump's presidency was changing the way American diplomacy played out in public.
A terrorist attack in the capital of one of America's closest allies had traditionally been an occasion for solidarity, private coordination and carefully measured presidential statements.
Trump instead transformed part of the aftermath into a personal political confrontation conducted through social media.
The underlying facts were straightforward.
Sadiq Khan strongly condemned the terrorists.
He urged Londoners to remain vigilant.
And he warned them that they would see additional armed police throughout their city and should not be frightened simply by their presence.
Trump removed that final statement from its context, attacked Khan over it and then continued attacking him after the context had been publicly explained.
For London, the immediate story was terrorism, victims and a city attempting to recover.
For the American president, it also became another political fight.