Peter Mandelson has been forewarned by a predecessor about a certain difficulty he will encounter with the upcoming Trump administration. The Labour peer and former cabinet minister is set to assume his role as the UK Ambassador to the US in the New Year.
Unlike the president-elect, Mandelson is pro-EU and advocates for increased cooperation with China. He has previously criticized Trump’s trade policies, labelling him as “a bully and mercantilist who thinks the US will gain in trade only when others are losing.”
However, former US ambassador Kim Darroch highlighted a different challenge during his appearance on BBC Newsnight.
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Darroch pointed out that Mandelson will have to contend with Trump’s early morning social media activity. He said, “One thing that is a certainty for the Trump government is the 5am tweet storm that comes most mornings of the week.
“At some point, Trump will say something that will be quite a story in the UK, he did so several times in his first term. So Peter Mandelson, I’m sure, will be prepared for that and be prepared for a bumpy and difficult ride. But he clearly wanted the job very much, so I say good luck to him.”
Darroch, who served as the US ambassador from 2016 to 2019, resigned after memos describing the first Trump administration as “dysfunctional, inept and divided” were leaked. Despite potential trade clashes, Darroch believes Mandelson is well-positioned to explain to Trump why 20% tariffs are “a really bad idea.”
He also suggested that Mandelson could help repair the UK government’s image in the US, countering accusations of the UK being a “far-left government” and a “tyrannical police state” as claimed by figures like Elon Musk. Darroch expressed confidence in Mandelson’s ability to persuade the Trump administration otherwise.
Trump had previously wanted Nigel Farage to replace Darroch during his first term, and Farage recently mentioned that Trump would “love it” if he took up the role in the Republican’s second term, though he acknowledged it is unlikely to happen.
Mandelson, however, suggested in November that the government should consider using Farage as a “bridge” to Trump and his new right-hand man, Elon Musk.
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