The London mayor has stirred up a hornets’ nest by challenging New Yorkers on which city is better.
We all know the answer to that question, of course, but Londoners are also modest enough not to flaunt it.
However, Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, decided to stir the never-ending rivalry for the title of the world’s greatest city as he revealed his somewhat obvious answer, because after all, promoting the capital comes with his job.
The 55-year-old, who is on the third round of mayorship, took a Tube ride with the American online talk show host and comedian Kareem Rahma as part of the popular Subway Takes.
Usually, Rahma films on the New York subway, but in the latest clip of the show with almost 2 million followers, he visited the London Underground, talking to guests like the mayor, Louis Theroux and stand-up comedian Ola Labib, who used a mic disguised as an Oyster card.
Khan revealed his ‘hot takes,’ which led to a friendly disagreement over London vs. New York – and revealed the mayor’s south London roots.
He said that ‘London is the best city in the world. Where London leads, other great cities follow,’ which is host ‘respectfully’ disagreed with.
Khan continued: ‘New York has been the financial centre of America, LA is known as cultural capital, Silicon Valley as the tech capital. London’s got it all, man – culture, finance, tech.’
The mayor then admitted the hottest take of all – that he finds beans ‘a bit nasty,’ adding that the confession will get him ‘locked up in the Tower of London.’
‘Listen bruv,’ Khan continued, which led to his host declaring that ‘London just won’ because it ‘has a mayor who says bruv.’
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Now the ball is in the court of New York’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, to respond. Khan and Momdani share many similarities, from their political leanings to being the first people of colour to lead their cities. Both mayors, who are Muslim, have received abuse linked to their faith.
While the mayor’s comments were jovial, he has recently come under repeated fire from the US president Donald Trump, who hails from New York.
The president launched a tirade against Khan during his state visit to the Big Smoke in September, calling him a ‘nasty, stupid guy’ and accusing the mayor of doing a ‘terrible job’ on crime in London.
Trump has also repeated the false claim that Khan wants to install Sharia law in the capital.
The London mayor appeared to take the high road after the inflammatory comments, describing the president as ‘racist, sexist, misogynistic and Islamophobic.’
Khan told Metro that it seems he is ‘living rent-free inside Donald Trump’s head’ and that the president has ‘a crush’ on him.
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