Envoys behaving badly

U.S. diplomats irk allies by acting undiplomatically

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has made a trademark of upending many of the diplomatic traditions that have defined U.S. foreign policy for decades, angering a host of longtime allies.

Now, a growing number of his ambassadors are doing the same.

This week, Richard Grenell, the newly installed U.S. ambassador in Berlin, outraged some in Germany when he told Breitbart London that he wanted to “empower other conservatives throughout Europe,” a direct political threat to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition. Germany’s Foreign Ministry asked for a clarification.

Last week, David Friedman, the ambassador to Israel, told an Israeli newspaper, “There’s no question Republicans support Israel more than Democrats,” making an explicitly partisan argument that is generally forbidden among ambassadors.

And earlier this year, Peter Hoekstra, the ambassador to the Netherlands, refused to respond to a room full of Dutch journalists who asked him to clarify false statements he had made in 2015 that politicians and cars had been burned by Muslims in the country. He has apologized.

There is nothing new about ambassadors making unfortunate remarks. But the growing list of top envoys who have provoked controversy even in posts of close allies, where diplomatic duties largely include party-giving and anodyne cheerleading, has been unusual — and, for the Trump administration, potentially perilous.

The administration is using its envoys, “even in our closest allies, to advance a nationalist and very aggressive agenda rather than maintain cordial relations,” said Nancy McEldowney, who had helped to train ambassadors for their posts as the former director of the Foreign Service Institute.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the midst of identifying candidates for 28 ambassadorships and 30 other top vacant positions in hopes of reenergizing a State Department that was left listless under his predecessor, Rex Tillerson.

But there is a widely held perception even among Republicans in Congress that the Trump administration does little to vet or coach its diplomatic nominees, and has proposed some candidates with zero relevant experience, unexplored controversies and huge gaps in basic knowledge.

Doug Manchester, nominated as the ambassador to the Bahamas, last year described the British Commonwealth realm as “for all intents and purposes” a protectorate of the United States, a description that was not well received on the islands. His nomination remains in limbo.

And as Senate Democrats’ irritation grows with envoys who are ensconced abroad, an already slow confirmation process for new nominees could become even more sclerotic.

“If Ambassador Grenell is unwilling to refrain from political statements, he should be recalled immediately,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said Monday.

Friedman’s comments on May 30, to the Times of Israel, led to a similar cascade of denunciations from Democrats.

Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., said Friedman’s remarks were “wrong, insensitive and demonstrate his ill-preparedness to be a suitable diplomat.”

In a briefing Tuesday, Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, said that “ambassadors have a right to express their opinion.”