Sadiq Khan has denounced US presidential candidates for their “abhorrent” campaigns against the trans community.
The Mayor of London has reignited his war of words with leading Republicans over their “awful” views.
He previously had a long-running public spat with former President Donald Trump.
Now he’s taking aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and Nikki Haley over their views on transgender issues.
Khan told the Pink News Westminster Pride reception in Westminster: “There are candidates running for President of the United States who are campaigning against the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, campaigning to be hateful and horrible for the trans community.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
He warned attendees at Wednesday’s event: “We shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security that it’s not happening here, just take a paper.
“You just have to watch TV, go on social media to see some of the images that politicians put out.
“When I share with you one in four trans teens tries to kill themselves, it should raise some awareness when it comes to talking about these kinds of issues.”
The Labor mayor stressed there remained ‘big, big challenges’ for the LGBTQ+ community and warned the UK was not immune to similar ‘culture wars’ tactics.
DeSantis, a hardline US presidential hopeful, recently praised Kemi Badenoch for his fight against the so-called “woke ideology”.
The Florida governor met the business secretary on a trip to Britain when he praised the leading conservative for her outspoken views.
The Sunday Telegraph claimed her allies hoped Badenoch could be the next Margaret Thatcher to their new Ronald Reagan.
Downing Street was then forced to deny that ministers were backing DeSantis over Trump in their battle to become the Republican candidate for president of the United States.