UK envoy’s leaked views inspire insults in tweets
LONDON — U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Britain’s ambassador to the United States for a second day, describing him as “wacky” and a “pompous fool” after leaked documents revealed the envoy’s dim view of Trump’s administration.
Trump fired off a series of tweets about Ambassador Kim Darroch hours after British Prime Minister Theresa May gave the veteran diplomat her continued support.
“The wacky Ambassador that the U.K. foisted upon the United States is not someone we are thrilled with, a very stupid guy,” Trump wrote in one tweet.
Darroch’s forthright, unfiltered views on the U.S. administration — meant for a limited audience and discreet review — appeared in leaked diplomatic documents that were published in Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper.
The disclosures have caused embarrassment and an awkward situation for two countries that often celebrate having a “special relationship.”
In his Twitter comments Tuesday, Trump combined criticism of Darroch with a broadside at May, chiding the British leader for failing to get her Brexit deal with the European Union through Parliament.
“I told theresa—may how to do that deal, but she went her own foolish way-was unable to get it done. A disaster!” Trump tweeted. “I don’t know the Ambassador but have been told he is a pompous fool.”
Darroch has served as Britain’s envoy in Washington since 2016. In one of his leaked memos, he said that to communicate effectively with Trump, “you need to make your points simple, even blunt.”
The published documents also included the ambassador calling the Trump administration’s policies on Iran “incoherent,” saying the U.S. president might be indebted to “dodgy Russians,” and raising doubts about whether the Trump White House “will ever look competent.”
Darroch has had a close relationship with numerous Trump administration officials. The president’s advisers have been frequent guests at British Embassy events.
An investigation is underway to find who was responsible for leaking the memos, a major breach of diplomatic security.