‘London is open’: Mayor Sadiq Khan offers alternative to students shut out of US by Donald Trump

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has extended an open invitation to international students excluded by US universities under the Trump administration, calling on them to choose London as a welcoming, inclusive, and forward-thinking alternative.

Speaking at the Concordia Europe Summit on Monday, Sadiq Khan said, as per a repot in ABC News, “If the U.S. is closed to you, we’ll make sure that London is open.” He praised the British capital as a “beacon of hope, progress and possibility,” adding that the city values the contributions of overseas students to “our society, our economy and our culture.”

Criticism of ‘narrow nationalism’ and isolationism

Without naming US President Donald Trump directly, Khan warned against rising nationalism and inward-looking politics. He criticised governments that “want to cut themselves off from the world, abdicate their responsibilities under the rule-based global order and stoke a narrow form of nationalism that divides their populations into insiders and outsiders.”

He argued that efforts to reverse globalisation are “an entirely self-defeating exercise that will do immense damage to your own economy and those of your allies and trade partners.”

‘We’ll roll out the red carpet’

Addressing those disillusioned by the political climate in their home countries, Khan said, "come to London, because we're ready to roll out the red carpet to business leaders, tech entrepreneurs, high net-worth individuals, creatives, students, whoever it may be."

A swipe at Trump’s policies

While Khan did not name Trump directly, his remarks come as the US President pushes for funding cuts to diversity and inclusion programs at US universities and pressures campuses over their handling of pro-Palestinian protests. These moves have been broadly criticised as stifling academic freedom.

‘The place to be’

Khan concluded with a direct appeal: “If you value certainty and stability, freedom and democracy, pluralism and mutual respect, then London is the place to be.”