Trump Announces He's Taking Action After UK Ambassador to US Called Him 'Incompetent'
President Donald Trump used the date of the 243rd anniversary of the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence on Monday to remind Britain what happens when Americans are treated with disrespect.
This time, the issue was not a tax on tea, but a few ill-chosen words from British Ambassador Kim Darroch.
On Saturday, Britain’s The Daily Mail published leaked excerpts from cables sent by Darroch that called the Trump administration “inept,” “insecure” and “incompetent.”
“We don’t really believe this Administration is going to become substantially more normal; less dysfunctional; less unpredictable; less faction riven; less diplomatically clumsy and inept,” one cable said, while another expressed doubt Trump’s administration will “ever look competent.”
Despite saying Trump’s life had been “mired in scandal,” Darroch suggested Trump could “emerge from the flames, battered but intact, like [Arnold] Schwarzenegger in the final scenes of ‘The Terminator.'”
Trump made his displeasure known via Twitter on Monday.
“I have been very critical about the way the U.K. and Prime Minister Theresa May handled 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. 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. While I thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent State Visit last month, it was the Queen who I was most impressed with!” Trump said in a pair of tweets.
….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. While I thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent State Visit last month, it was the Queen who I was most impressed with!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2019
Trump’s tweet echoed comments he made Sunday.
“We’ve had our little ins and outs with a couple of countries, and I would say that the U.K. — their ambassador has not served the U.K. well, I can tell you that,” Trump said, according to Fox News.
“We are not big fans of that man, and he has not served the U.K. well. So, I can understand it and I can say things about him, but I won’t bother,” he said.
WATCH | @realDonaldTrump responds to Kim Darroch’s sad trashing of the U.S President: “We’re not big fans of that man. The ambassador has not served the UK well, I can tell you that. I can say things about him but I won’t bother.” ? pic.twitter.com/19uKEoVItD
— Leave.EU (@LeaveEUOfficial) July 7, 2019
Several British voices supported Trump, including Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage and author Stephen Pax Leonard.
Kim Darroch is totally unsuitable for the job and the sooner he is gone the better. https://t.co/ESiefO3UYm
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) July 7, 2019
We need to be careful. When leaving the EU, our ties with the US need to be stronger than ever. Darroch will have to be swiftly removed or given a new posting before this boils over. We cannot let 1 diplomat wreck our relationship with our closest partnerhttps://t.co/fHZL7I30YA
— Stephen Pax Leonard (@stephen_pax) July 8, 2019
The Washington Post said British International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, who was meeting with Ivanka Trump in Washington, would make a personal apology on Monday.
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