President Trump said he would “no longer deal with” the U.K.’s ambassador to the U.S. on Monday. This statement came after leaked cables revealed the diplomat’s blunt assessment of the Trump administration.
In a pair of tweets, Trump bristled at Ambassador Kim Darroch’s description of him as “inept” and suggested a new British government could make changes.
“I do not know the Ambassador, but he is not liked or well thought of within the U.S. We will no longer deal with him. The good news for the wonderful United Kingdom is that they will soon have a new Prime Minister,” Trump wrote.
Trump not only showed his anger over being criticized by a foreign official, he also went after outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May over her handling of Brexit.
“What a mess she and her representatives have created. I told her how it should be done, but she decided to go another way,” Trump wrote, adding that “while I thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent State Visit last month, it was the Queen who I was most impressed with!”
Shortly after Trump’s tweet, an administration official said that Darroch had been disinvited from a Monday night dinner hosted by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin with Trump and the emir of Qatar.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is dining with Trump and other top U.S. officials ahead of his meeting tomorrow with the president at the White House.
The British government said Monday that Darroch continues to have May’s “full support.”
“We have made clear to the U.S. how unfortunate this leak is. The selective extracts leaked do not reflect the closeness of, and the esteem in which we hold, the relationship,” a U.K. government spokesperson said in a statement. “At the same time we have also underlined the importance of ambassadors being able to provide honest, unvarnished assessments of the politics in their country.”
The spokesperson said the country has a “special and enduring relationship with the U.S. based on our long history and commitment to shared values and that will continue to be the case.”
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