Keep on tweeting Mr. President, right into November 2020. I think you will so much better in the opposition.
3
What I find most striking is that foreign powers are now expected to pay obeisance to the progeny of the American president for speaking the truth. The world is quickly descending down the rabbit hole.
20
Sir Kim Darroch spoke the unvarnished truth. America elected a corrupt, immoral, inept buffoon in 2016. No other president would intefere in Britain's internal affairs as Trump has done. And Lilibet's real feelings for Trump can be seen in the fact that during her lengthy toast, she had warm words for the special relationship & the sacrifices made by members of both militaries...but NONE for Trump which he clearly expected.
23
It 's ironic is it not that the opinions expressed by Sir Kim Darroch are probably similar to the ones held by most Republicans in Congress. Held privately but not publicly of course.
Ex-cabinet officers have described Trump as a "moron."
Inept, incurious, a simpleton, ego-driven. Our president. Not trusted by our allies and embraced by our enemies. What's terribly wrong with this picture?
22
@Len what is wrong with this picture/?
nothing!
2
I'm surprised the vengeance-addled White House occupant hasn't already ordered Pompeo to declare Darroch persona non grata.
4
Will Trump's followers now say the UK is a nation of disgruntled Democrats?
8
Yet again the President gives new meaning to the concept of tastelessness.
13
The truth is the most painful thing to trump
11
Boris Johnson is a Trump pal, and may be elected. He has written books and whatever you think of his views, is much better at English than Trump. See his book on Churchill. He can also be rather amusing, which Trump never is.
Here's one of the Andy Borowitz satires on the surreal Trump in New Yorker Magazine. Such unique inspiration from the WH.
"British Ambassador Concealed Insults from Trump by Writing Messages in English. July 8
LONDON (The Borowitz Report)—The British Ambassador to the United States, Kim Darroch, explained on Monday that he had tried to conceal insulting remarks from Donald Trump by writing his cables in English.
“I believed that, by writing these messages in English, that would serve the same purpose as encryption,” Darroch said. “The fact that Trump was somehow able to decode them remains deeply mysterious to me.”
Darroch said that, “out of an abundance of caution,” he took further steps to make the cables indecipherable to Trump, deploying multisyllabic words such as “dysfunctional.”
“Clearly, I did not take into account the possibility that one of his aides might read these cables aloud to him and explain what all of the long words meant,” he said. “I was not aware that there was anyone at the White House capable of performing such duties.”
In Washington, Trump appeared not to be taking the insulting cables personally. “The British are just mad at us for taking over their airports in the eighteenth century,” he said.
11
President Trump feels entitled to insult anyone, anytime, anywhere, without regard for diplomacy, civility, or ethics, or truth.
Yet when a seasoned and respected diplomat privately advises his government of the less than flattering truth about President Trump, well, it's banishment.
Trump embarrasses himself more each day, and his reactions to Sir Kim's report only give credence to its essential points about the president's insecurity and incompetence.
29
Harsh punishment for simply presenting the unvarnished truth.
13
Worshipful sycophants are what Trump craves. Those who see him for what he is are, ipso facto, his mortal enemy. Look at the graveyard of former WH insiders who were ousted for criticizing the man. This latest is just another day in the Trump presidency.
6
The US does have Special Relationship(s), but just not with the UK. Its changing political economy and demographics mean the special relationships are with Israel and Saudi Arabia (for obvious reasons), Germany (as the leading continental economy) and Japan (ditto). The UK is last century's man, when America was pale, male and anglophile.
4
This whole situation cries out for satire---and here it is.
One of the Andy Borowitz best, on the surreal Trump, who provides such unique inspiration.
From the New Yorker mag.....
"British Ambassador Concealed Insults from Trump by Writing Messages in English. July 8
LONDON (The Borowitz Report)—The British Ambassador to the United States, Kim Darroch, explained on Monday that he had tried to conceal insulting remarks from Donald Trump by writing his cables in English.
“I believed that, by writing these messages in English, that would serve the same purpose as encryption,” Darroch said. “The fact that Trump was somehow able to decode them remains deeply mysterious to me.”
Darroch said that, “out of an abundance of caution,” he took further steps to make the cables indecipherable to Trump, deploying multisyllabic words such as “dysfunctional.”
“Clearly, I did not take into account the possibility that one of his aides might read these cables aloud to him and explain what all of the long words meant,” he said. “I was not aware that there was anyone at the White House capable of performing such duties.”
In Washington, Trump appeared not to be taking the insulting cables personally. “The British are just mad at us for taking over their airports in the eighteenth century,” he said."
8
The truth hurts.
5
Please have some respect for the office of the President of the UK's greatest ally, Mr. Darroch.
If Trump or anyone in the US Government has done anything to hurt the interests of the UK, then sure, the UK Government needs to hear about it fro you - and pretty sharpish.
But comments that read like the script for a Chris Matthews or Rachel Maddow Show, save them for a private conversation - very private.
2
Of course, the real scandal is why such widely held opinions were considered confidential in the first place.
3
The ambassador spoke truthfully. The journalist seems to think the Queen received Trump royally because she wanted to, but she is paid to do that and it is not necessarily by her choice. Like the ambassador. Diplomacy is always a balance between cold thinking and charm. The Brits believe they need the Americans more than they need Europe. It’s part of the WW2 nostalgia.
12
I'd like to know how the tabloid got these secret cables. That's the biggest question for me. It sounds like yet another Putin hacking tactic that's being used to divide us farther from our allies. This really helps Russia more than anyone else I can think of.
19
@J Seagle
Agree.
2
The Ambassador is certainly entitled to inform his government of his views of the President and his team/staff. That's what Ambassadors have done from time immemorial. It's what they're paid to do.
This simply demonstrates again that Mr Trump cannot bear any sort of behavior except slavish sycophancy.
"Would some God the gift would give us, to see ourselves as others see us." But perhaps looking in that sort of mirror is too frightening for the current president.
20
He once remarked that he never sought therapy because he was afraid of what he'd learn. He's now demonstrating what he was afraid to learn in plain sight.
5
Sir Kim's comments may have been his private opinion. He expressed them in an official document. His choice of words is problematic because he's not a qualified psychologist, and they're definitely outside the bounds of diplomatic parlance. As far as the ouster of PM May, I think the POTUS nailed it. She dragged her feet for three years despite the vote of the citizens of the United Kingdom and the authorization to proceed given by the Crown.
1
'-an extraordinary breach between the United States and one of its closest allies...' No country can feel that the US under Trump is an ally. It is quite obvious that he despises other countries, and only America matters. I wouldn't imagine that his followers have a different view. Unless something fundamental changes in the American leadership and a large proportion of its people, America has no allies.
11
@GG2018. It has been that way for more more than a half century. "American does not have friends. It has interests." Former U.S. secretary of state John Foster Dulles.
1
"...only America matters." Not even that. In his mind only he matters. His faux patriotic blather and flag snuggling is just for his fan club.
4
How is it that the trade minister was dispatched to apologize to
Ivanka? Is she now Trump's real head of the State Department since her trip to Japan with him? Or are the Brits subtly saying
this incident isn't worth a serious formal apology
7
I suppose this means that Mr. Trump expects our Ambassadors around the world to report back with rosy assessments no matter what the reality on the ground is.
11
The truth can be very painful to the self-deluded. it's also crucial to good relationships.
8
First, the guy is ready to retire in a few months and he could make an early exit once Trump loving Boris becomes PM.
And while embarrassing, his comments are what most people with working brains think about DT. Besides, it'd fun to see more Twitter recation from Trump. diplomacy by tweets.
7
"'What a mess she and her representatives have created,' Mr. Trump said of Mrs. May. 'I told her how it should be done, but she decided to go another way.'”
I absolutely cannot understand why Mrs. May did not fully credit Trump's expertise on how creating a mess should be done.
12
The British have an wonderful way of understating clear eyed observations, something completely devoid in the current White House. Our "frayed relationship" due to Trump's "clumsy and inept" administration only highlights the "dysfunction" President Chaos seems to enjoy. His free advice to Ms. May is worth every penny.
While the queen seems to be one of Donald's types, his relationship with this "spectacular woman" alone could not keep the ambassador's very accurate assessments from striking a nerve. I fear The Don may have to revert to yet another re-branding effort.
5
Our leadership is perhaps all that the British say. One thing is for sure: The British people see who really has a “uniquely dysfunctional environment” it's called the European Union.
Coddling, unabashedly, the Russians, the Iranians, the Chinese, Royalty, the elite....
To go back to my roots "It Ain't US yet."
The truth is powerful. Too bad it's lost on Trump and his supporters.
4
No surprise here. Narcissists respond with intense rage to any perceived slight, no matter how minor the slight or how inaccurate their perception may be. It's ironic that someone who goes to such extraordinary lengths to needlessly denigrate others consistently overreacts the moment he gets the slightest taste of his own medicine.
Trump spends most of his time and energy pursuing petty personal vendettas against anyone who displeased him. This is most inappropriate for a POTUS. Trump makes Nixon look like Mother Theresa.
11
Mr. Trump gets to publicly and crudely disparage, criticize and insult leaders, diplomats, academics and journalists around the world and the minute anyone does the same to him, even in confidence, look what happens to them! Shouldn't it be Britain who says they will no longer deal with Mr. Trump because of his insults? Isn't it time we all said we will no longer deal with this clumsy unintelligent incompetent fool? We are letting this happen.
39
@derekbax
You're exactly right.
3
If one could get unbiased opinions in confidence from the major world leaders and their diplomatic envoys, bet they'd give the same assessment of our deranged demagogue-in-chief or even worse. He needs to be out of office along with his entire cabinet (and family).
8
"Dysfunctional," "clumsy," and "inept" are far too kind to describe the disaster that is the Trump administration. I would be pleased to use even stronger words to characterize Trump and those surrounding him if only it were that easy to get Trump to stop dealing with the country and to cease the irreparable damage he is causing to all of us.
8
Wait. You mean the emperor has no clothes? I'm shocked, shocked there's ineptitude in our White House. We'd seen no evidence before this leaked memo. Well, maybe a tsunami of evidence, but Republicans were comfortable ignoring what they all know. Just look at Lindsey Graham. He's a veritable whether vane in the face of Trumpian hot air.
5
Trump suggested that the UK "sue" the EU...in what court? An EU court?
7
No apology necessary. Send Sir Kim to Sweden or Ghana or some other beautiful country to do his job. No need to be in a capacity where frustration is the norm.
And, uh, who leaked a private cable? That person should be fired. It's not like wikileaks. It's trivial gossip.
2
Memo to D. Trump. Every diplomatic corp in the world feels the same way.
7
If anyone ever advised the current White House occupant to pick his fights, it's obvious the advice never took hold.
3
What a breath of fresh air to read the non-partisan comments on the Trump administration. To have the analysis by a seasoned diplomat--how can anyone defend this Laurel and Hardy administration?
7
Sure the US ambassador was just weeks ago telling the UK that they were going to have to sell their NHS to American bidders, wasn’t he?
2
O, Bo-Hoo Don's feelings were hurt by someone he can't bully.
5
"I told her how she should do it," said King of the World Donald - but she didn't listen to the almighty me, so now I'm going to throw a hissy fit until I get my way!!!!
3
Trump has shouted-down his opponents with sophomoric nicknames meant to humiliate and embarrass them ever since he began running for office. In truth, such immaturity has made him look ridiculous for lacking the decorum and discipline one expects of a world leader.
Now, after Sir Kim Darroch, the British Ambassador to our country—a formerly esteemed nation that Trump has belittled time and time again through his ineptitude and ignorance of social convention, has described Trump's leadership as "clumsy and inept," our leader announced that he is going to"dis" the ambassador, and, in an attempt to gain one "up-childship," added an insult to Prime Minister Theresa May. He is such an insecure, teeny-tiny, pitiful excuse of a man—let alone a President—kicking a woman after she's already been knocked down.
Sir Darroch simply admitted what everyone else thinks. "Clumsy and inept" are probably compliments compared to what others have thought and said. "Dysfunctional" is the perfect adjective for Trump's revolving-door administration. I hope that the new British Prime Minister does not go beyond a slap on the wrist for Sir Darroch. I hate to think that the British government would bow to Mr. Trump's buffoonery.
If Trump has an ounce of grace, intelligence, and humility, he will let go what he slathers on everyone else like a gentleman who can take what he gives, put down his pistol, take off his gloves, and accept an apology.
Maybe even earnestly consider Darroch's words . . .
4
Just another dedicated, honest, immensly experienced professional confirming reality and and getting pilloried by our Dear Leader for doing so. He joins a cast of what must be thousands treated the same. To wit. for starters:
Comey
Mueller
McCain (may he rest in peace)
Pelosi
The CIA
THE FBI
Obama
Clintons (both of them)
Numerous judges who rule against him.
All Democrats
The Press as the Enemy of the People.
While at the same time, sometimes in the same Tweet he embraces and promotes the likes of:
Kim Jung Un
Putin
Mohammed bin Salman
Epstein
Alabama's Roy Moore
Michael Cohen
Paul Manafort
3 dictators, 2 sexual predators, one "fixer" (who got caught fixing for Trump) and one multi-talented felon with clear ties to Russia through Ukraine. 2 aleady in jail and others indighted likely headed there.
The British Ambassador deserves a medal more than the flack he is getting for his honesty and observations about what is, sadly, out in plain sight of everybody. Yet we as a nation do nothing about it. A plurality even promotes it.
That says more about us a nation than any of Trump's own destructove antics. That is the tragedy here more than any other.
America has lost its greatest asset: Its moral and Constitutional compass. Trumpism has replaced it.
Mr. Putin, Congratulations: Mission Accomplished.
10
The fellow is the most despised, mocked, ridiculed character in US history.
The ambassador should praised and congratulated for telling the world the truth we ALL know. Don't kill the messenger!
8
What a child our president is! One criticism and he doesn't want to "play with" the Ambassador any more. What a baby!!!!
5
Trump lashing out and belittling the ambassador is the classic response of a bully who can dish it out but can't take it when it's thrown back at him. Trump's inane tweets disparaging Darroch and May just prove, yet again, how insecure he is, just like all bullies.
26
Sigh ... what a crybaby - and publicly, always publicly ! Don the child has made our nation a laughing stock. And a fairly large percentage seem not to care.
5
I feel bad for the poor trade minister who has to apologize to unwantedivanka
3
This is all part of a Putin-backed plot to stick a Trump sycophant in the DC Embassy. The story was leaked to Isabel Oakshott (the journalist who started the rumor about David Cameron being "involved" with a pig) who is backed by powerful Trump/Putin/Farage/Brexit allies. Of course the real story is the fact that the British foreign office now can't trust its own people.
3
As if leaders and diplomats of all our allies don't share Darroch's opinion of the current White House occupant and his administration. Perhaps they just have more effective mole control. Meanwhile, how would he react to leaked documents confirming that his dictator chums regard him as a clownish but useful idiot? A good clue would be the Russian state media's mocking of his July 4th fizzle.
5
How dare he speak the truth! Off with his head!
3
Very often we talk about the special relationship between UK and the USA. And also we talk about the great love between those two countries. As Roy Orbison and the band Nazareth sang so well, "Love Hurts."
2
Some people never like the truth--most of all people like Trump.
29
Why apologize for speaking the truth? No official should have the power to shut down communication through legitimate channels because his fragile feelings were hurt. I believe The ambassador has a keen eye for character.
46
“The first cut is the deepest” as the song laments and so this is a continued slow, excruciating fit and just death of this Presidency by yet another one of a thousand cuts by the knives of truth from a surprising and yet valued American Hero in the form of the U.K. Ambassador to the US,
The treatment of truth will always be a relentless and ever-slicing weapon against a cancerous and bloated tumor of corruption to our democratic system and constitution, no matter who wields it, especially when it comes from an ally, in this case the U.K. Ambassador.
Now, the baby wants to take his marbles and go home - doesn’t want to play anymore because he’s been, by accident or deliberately cut with the truth publicly.
Actually, not a bad idea. Go home and collect those pictures you have at Mar-La-go of Epstein and the girls and Maxwell and Prince Andrew and Clinton et al (the poor Queen can’t catch a break between Trump lying about her having the best time with him during her reign since her Coronation to the disgusting behaviors of her two eldest sons).
Yes resign, oh wait, you might want to stay the last two years because when you are no longer President the DOJ and NY attorney general, might be visiting you with some indictments and various warrants.
35
Nothing Mr. Darroch stated is false.
There have been numerous published articles both in the American and world press that back him up. Video of Trump supports Darroch's conclusions as well.
When your presidency and your reputation are built on a foundation of lies, it is hard to keep a manufactured image intact.
Truth hurts, doesn't it.
Vote Democratic in 2020.
Every seat, every office.
This column is a perfect example of why it is so important to vote.
66
@D. DeMarco, don't wait for 2020. Show up now. Vote in every election for Democrats for every office: local, regional, state. It's how Republicans captured their power; we can take it back in the same way, but it starts with the next local election and grows from there. As Tears for Fears sang, "Everything counts in large amounts."
6
@CP You mean, Depeche Mode.
3
Trump's right about May, she's been dreadful as PM.
He's wrong about Johnson, he'll be as big a disaster as PM as Trump's been as President.
As for no longer dealing with Darroch, that's a win for Darroch.
43
As they say, the truth hurts!
30
The ambassador was doing his job - he seems to have been truthful and insightful, as he presented a view of Trump's administration which is shared by others who know what is happening in the White House.
The leaking of those views is out of order and should not have happened. The leaker is at fault, not the ambassador.
Trump's reaction proves the truth of the comments - a childish and egocentric position which makes people even more convinced that he is a silly and rather pathetic little man man who is totally unfit for the office he holds.
96
The person occupying our White House gets away with lying about anyone he wants to insult, but no one can get away with telling the truth about him.
125
Can Buckingham’s inside mole reveal the chortle that delighted the royal family? The ill fitted Emperors Penguin Suit worn by his nibs surely the toast of the court last month. The motley brood that accompanied him Scrumpy and Western style gawking and chawing, bucktooth and all?
There surely is a lesson to be learned here. That lesson is you can dress them up, however their backwoods breeding will always reveal itself.
23
Yet 40% of our country probably thinks this is fake news, due to their reliance on Trump TV (Fox) and anti-intellectual blabbermouth buffoons like Rush Limbaugh. It's astounding; the West is tearing at the seams at the hands of far-right anti-democratic forces everywhere -- who all, coincidentally, wrap themselves in their country's flag while destroying it from within. However, one thing did stand out to me. Britain doesn't have much room to criticize us; in my estimation, they're further up the creek than we are.
10
What a dreadful and inappropriate intervention in the internal affairs of another country. Worst of all a country with which the US has enjoyed close ties over such a long period of time. How utterly crass the nature of the intervention and how revealing the tone and content about the narcissistic ego of the President of the United States. The PM of the U.K. is departing her office, humiliated, having failed miserably in every way possible. And yet President Trump takes the time to heap further humiliation upon her. He has just left the U.K. having enjoyed a State visit facilitated by the very PM he has just insulted. What an utter bully. What a disgrace of a human being.
As for his advice to PM May about Brexit?.His advice to PM May was to sue the EU. Sue the EU! Where? On what grounds? Oh the genius of it. He is wasted as President. He should be elevated like the ancient Roman Emperors to Godhood. Or if this isn’t possible could you not change the American Republic to a Monarchical Kingdom and install him as the first Monarch? Emperor is a title he might enjoy.
The irony of is that he has refused to deal with the diplomatic representative of the U.K. to the USA because cables critical of his administration, which should have remained confidential, were leaked and his feelings were hurt. And yet he does not see the hypocrisy in his repeated public denigrations of other Heads of State and Government. The man lacks all self awareness.
88
The man-infant in the Oval Office has spoken! Honestly, I have never seen anyone more thin-skinned. And, sadly, he sits in one of the most powerful offices in the world. He has turned the White House into somewhat of a joke, when it's not a spot to carry out Trump's personal enrichment schemes; and the people around him into pathetic human shells. Everything he touches, everyone he influences, rots.
47
Being sent off by Trump should be a proudly worn badge of honor.
28
@Suburban Cowboy And the Queen should give him a membership in the Ordre de la Jarretière, and make him a member of the House of Lord.
2
In relation to this statement "Mr. Johnson has pledged to pursue a “no deal” exit from the European Union.", NYT is being disingenuous at best, and inaccurate at worst.
Boris Johnson, for all his glaring faults, is not pursuing a "no deal" exit from the EU, he has only expressed he would take it if all other options failed.
Context NYT, context.
7
Most Americans agree that we do indeed have a dysfunctional president.
I am glad that people are finally starting to speak the truth about the predator in chief. This era will be remembered for the USA having a totally incompetent, unqualified person as president.
40
Trump,who called Meghan Markle( a member of the royal Family) nasty in an interview with a British Paper just before his visit to Britain is so thin skinned that he cannot accept some frank words from the British Ambassador and is turning the entire exchange into a feud with Britain.This is just another example of Trump alienating our traditional allies while he praises dictators and accepts their every word.What did the British Ambassador say, “this regime is clumsy and inept”- I would say that he nailed it!
56
@JANET MICHAEL. Thankfully the Anglo-American relationship is built on a sturdy base of shared values and history, I refuse to allow the current president to colour (no auto correct, I won't drop the u) my opinion of the American people, whom I know to be generally good and honest, as long as we remember these shared values we can weather the Trumpian storms.
31
@Epaminondas:
Thank you for your kind sentiments.
Most of us here in America are terribly embarrassed by this President & his appointees - almost on a daily basis.
We're also highly embarrassed by Mitch McConnell & the way that he has chosen to run his office.
But we know that the rest of the world has been watching & listening all the while .. and they know, as you do, that we are NOT at all like our President or his cronies.
Hopefully better days will be here soon.
6
@Epaminondas, thank you. Despite what gets reported, most Americans are with you, too, just under-represented in our unbalanced senate, antiquated electoral college system and gerrymandered districts. (And good luck reining Johnson in; he's Trump with even worse hair!)
3
And once again the GOP is silent as it takes a UK diplomat to tell the truth.
43
British diplomats apologizing to the president’s daughter? I must be mistaken, I thought the United Kingdom was supposed to be the dynastic monarchy here.
37
Pretty sure that only the “nice” emails were leaked. If all the things you could say about the US administration “clumsy and inept” seems pretty mellow and charitable.
55
What does he think people say behind his back? That he's a stable genius? That surrounding himself with nothing but family, felons, and fixers proves he's a clear-thinking, reliable ally?
Besides, everyone knows the Brits are still sore about losing all those airports during the Revolutionary War. What does he expect when he keeps rubbing their noses in that?
59
@A Nobody
We also threw Cornwallis's redcoats off the moon and built a Trump golf course there. So much winning!
6
Trump's wittering (sorry, twittering) against the British Ambassador is misplaced and displays his ignorance of the fact that ALL national ambassadors send confidential and frank reports about their host countries back to their own governments. That includes American ambassadors who were similarly embarrassed a few years go by 'Wikileaks'. Our ambassador is not at fault for making an assessment of the American administration (correct in its content by the way). The person at fault is the person who leaked it, and I hope he or she is identified and dealt with very severely
27
@Lionel Beck
Remember the leaked correspondence about Mrs. Clinton? Her measured response is classic—paraphrasing: they should see what we write about them. And she laughed and got back to work. THAT is how you respond to criticism.
30
Just to be clear: if the American public were to "leak" unpleasant truths about Trump, he promises to have nothing more to do with us?
Yowza!
Where to begin....
55
Lots of problems come to the surface with this one. First, the wording was unprofessional, undiplomatic and inappropriate in an official document. In an official document he should be clear on what basis he is saying these things and if repeating something he read in the NY Times, Washington Post or heard on CNN, he should make that clear. Second, it is unclear how "confidential" this communication was. If more than one or two people in the Foreign Office has access to it, Sir Kim is the inept one. It would be bound to leak. If Sir Kim had such strong negative feelings about Trump, he should verbally communicate them direct to the Ministers, not broadcast it. Third the British Civil Service, which used to be pride of the nation, where the role and activities were independently structured, non political and totally discrete, is now in meltdown. The Civil Service is there to serve the elected officials, not make policy or undermine them. Last week, a civil servant leaked/briefed on opinions about Corbyn, before that it was on Gove, before that on Williamson and for months the Treasury has briefed against Brexit and the Foreign Office has itself been at war with it's own ministers and Brexit. It is this deterioration of the integrity of the Civil Service which is most worrying, more so than some now absurd and indiscreet ambassador. More harm was done by the leak itself, than content, which is not in the interest of the UK or even the USA. The EU must love it!
5
@Niall intriguing.
@Niall
Not to worry about the British civil service. Its integrity has been in danger for many years, maybe centuries. Read history. Read the spy stories. It still seems to come up roses.
The best thing about reading history is that everything has happened before and all have survived somehow be they Greeks, or Romans, or British, or Americans.
Or not.
5
“Mr. Trump praised the queen as a “spectacular woman” and claimed that during their meetings, her staff said she had not had so much fun in 25 years.”
Of course tRump would rather believe this obvious puffery than the straight observation of a skilled professional observer.
I’m not wise in the ways of diplomacy, but it appears that tRump is responding just the way the leakers would want him to do. Creating a rift between the U.S. and Britain serves someone.
20
@Allison Of course she had fun! It is always fun to have guests you can politely laugh at behind their backs, and I am sure that happened in the hallowed private halls of BP.
3
Why not say it up front: "Trump refuses to deal with the British ambassador because he tells the truth."
116
The ambassador spoke the truth. Trump is inept and it is on display since 2016 or before.
80
uhhh, did he say something most of us don't already know? Of course it shouldn't have been leaked. But I'd say he got it totally right.
64
Donald J. Trump's most existential threat has always been truth.
101
What, the Trump administration is not chaotic and unpredictable? It seems that the Ambassador got caught telling the truth, a definite no-no in Trump world.
Of course Trump thinks he would have gotten a better deal than May. Trump always thinks he can do better, but he rarely to never produces. It is so very easy to criticize others than it is to actually come up with something himself.
Trump and Boarish Johnson will make a matched set on the two sides of the Atlantic.
31
@Anne-Marie Hislop Yes, it's hilarious that he's stil fuming about how May wouldn't take his advice. The Paris fire department didn't take his advice, either, when he recommended dumping a few cubic tons of water on Notre Dame from a flying tanker, and as a result, the cathedral is still standing, as opposed to being a pile of rubble.
18
British diplomat exposed for speaking truth and Trump yet again publicly bullies and demeans an ally. So please clarify, who is expected to apologize?
With Trump there are no special relationships with the United States.
68
@R Fishell….It may be that the American Voters who thought Voting for Trump was a good idea should apologize to us all !!
23
@Dave
Nicest thought I've heard all week! Thank you for that.
2
The whole world knows the facts so bluntly laid out in the British ambassadors cables, what's surprising is the Russians have not hacked more and released them to further Trumps hatred of our former allies and cement his love for Putin.
20
Am i alone in wishing that Ms. May had, with limited time left in her ability to truly say/do anything, simply said "we stand behind the words of our ambassador and celebrate his candor in reviewing the situation". The entire planet knows our White House is in disarray and our President has the attention span of a fruit fly at a farm stand.
127
Seems that the leak of the diptel (email) causes further embarrassment and diplomatic counter measures beyond the wildest media dream? This UK press release has created so much more than the eye can see or the ear can hear - perhaps we are at a loss as to where the finger should be pointed next?
7
"In his cables, Mr. Darroch described the White House as a “uniquely dysfunctional environment” and said Mr. Trump was an unpredictable character. “There is no filter,” he wrote. He also said the president faced the prospect of further disclosures that could lead to “disgrace and downfall.”
If you are offended or defensive, it's because the truth hurts. It is *that* simple.
140
I doubt that the current American administration is capable of appointing an Ambassador to the Court of St.James who serves the U.S. nearly as wisely or as insightfully as Sir Kim does the current U.K. administration.
32
@Lewis Sternberg -- The current ambassador is Robert "Woody" Johnson, IV (as in Johnson&Johnson) ... a crony of the president's and a co-owner of the Jets football team. And, he is a neighbor in Bedminster. NJ. Woody has also had "problems" with the IRS and taxes, which he settled by paying them -- in full.
4
This reminds me of the famous De Lome letter that precipitated American involvement in the Spanish American war. Then, the Spanish ambassador criticized President William McKinley by calling him weak and too concerned with public opinion. Now, the British ambassador called Trump "clumsy" and "inept." In both cases, such statements seem basically true and no worse than what Americans are saying about their president. Let's hope there's a better outcome this time around.
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The UK political system is descending into civil war between brexit and remain supporters,how can brexit supporters believe that the US - UK special relationship will save the UK from breakup,and descending into Chaos if we go into a hard brexit.
12
I would say that apologising to the president's daughter (...) has/will cause(d) far more of a stain on diplomatic precedent than what was in the leaked tweets.
53
Right wingers were always deeply concerned about the perception of the United States around the world prior to Trump. It is unfortunate but true that now, the rest of the world really is laughing at our country.
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It's frequently said a blunder in Washington is when someone tells the actual truth. The British ambassador didn't write anything that a majority of the intelligence community, our military leadership, our diplomatic corps, and members of BOTH parties wouldn't agree with.
Trump is a loon if he thinks no one agrees with Sir Kim. But that's the insanity most knowledgeable Americans have lived with since Trump glided down his escalator in front of a paid crowd of admirers. And most of us are counting the days until he's removed from office and the world stage, hopefully in handcuffs. (Do the British leadership know more than we do in this regard?)
Our national nightmare will almost surely end, but a Great Britain determined to leave the EU without a deal will probably disaggregate into a rump state without Scotland and Northern Ireland. It's curious Trump and Putin both wish for the same outcome plus divisions in our special relationship.
Anything Trump touches dies (with thanks to Rick Wilson's insight). His marriages repeatedly fail. His businesses all too often fail (but for bailouts from daddy or the Russians). And he may yet destroy our two countries, not to mention other traditional alliances.
Americans typically don't care much about foreign affairs. Most will ignore this latest dust up. But Trump lowers our standing in the world almost ever day. And someday soon we may need our allies back. Let's hope our 46th president is up to a herculean task.
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@Michael Tyndall
"...without Scotland and Northern Ireland."
And this is bad for the UK? Let's see how these two newly minted countries do when they turn up in Brussels looking for the transfer payments that will no longer flow from London.
Calls for a United Ireland will also subside, as Dublin realizes that they will have to take over those transfer payments; many of which will go to Evangelical Unionists.
.
1
@Mike Edwards
This will be a mess, but the question is whether Scotland and Northern Ireland will be better off one way or the other in the face of a hard Brexit. I doubt there are any good options in that setting. And Britain will lose a lot of its relevancy, not to mention net economic benefits, all for the sake of sovereignty. I guess they can give austerity another go, but who will conservatives blame this time?
4
This is just a vivid reminder of what most of the world really thinks of the president, his administration, and our judgment as citizens. Could they all be so wrong?
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It was our "judgement as citizens" that elected Trump. It is our judgement that keeps him in office, and, I wager, it is our deplorable judgement that might re-elect him. The outrage in our country is spineless.
7
@vincentgaglione, not the judgment of a majority of voters, but as we know too well, all votes are not created equal.
2
"a British leadership that is likely to be replaced in the coming weeks by harder-line, pro-Brexit forces more to the president’s liking."
Boris Johnson is likely to be the next Prime Minister and is favored by Trump because he has many Trump characteristics.
He claims credit for the London Olympics which took place while he was mayor of London despite the fact that it was awarded before he became mayor and was a national effort.
He does not mention the pedestrian garden bridge over the Thames on which he spent £7.5M ($9.35M) of taxpayer's money before finding it was not needed and would cost vastly more to build and maintain than even rich Londoners were prepared to spend.
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@irdac
Boris Johnson "claims credit for the London Olympics which took place while he was Mayor of London."
As well he should. The 2012 Olympics were a resounding success. Congrats to the 29 gold medal winners from the UK; they secured their nation the third biggest gold medal haul - behind only the US and China.
@Mike Edwards
What if The Mail's source is Russian hackers? This would be child's play for Putin, to leak these cables in order to drive the US and UK further apart, knowing exactly how Trump would react. Let's find out where the leak came from before we further disparage the ambassador.
3