Feud alert! London insults Salt Lake and Salt Lake swipes back

• Tweet

London has a bit of a bone to pick with Mitt Romney, and by extension Salt Lake City. And Salt Lake City didn't miss the opportunity to swipe back.

"While those of us who have had the fortune of visiting London know it is certainly a wonderful city, Prime Minister Cameron's comments likely reflect his lack of familiarity with Salt Lake City," said Art Raymond, a spokesman for Mayor Ralph Becker, in a statement to BuzzFeed.

"We'd welcome the opportunity to share all that we enjoy here with the PM, including a great number of assets that you'd be hard-pressed to find in London-world-class outdoor recreation, an economy that has prospered even through the recent economic recession, one of the best-educated populations in the world and a rare sense of community and commitment to progressive evolution.

"We also hosted the most successful Olympics Winter Games, ever," Becker said.

He also ended with a zinger: "He can stop by any time. We'd love to have him and are happy to send a map so he doesn't run into any trouble locating the middle of nowhere."

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee's diplomatic goodwill tour stumbled out of the gate with not one but three gaffes on his first day in London--most notably, when he insinuated that the Olympics host is unprepared for the kickoff of the Games.

"You know, it's hard to know just how well it will turn out," Romney told NBC. "There are a few things that were disconcerting. The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials… that obviously is not something which is encouraging."

Prime Minister David Cameron was naturally none too pleased with Romney's comments.

"We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world," he said. "Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere."

Cameron was referring, of course, to Romney's experience running the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, in which he has been praised for turning around a troubled games.