Trump campaign adviser calls incoming UK ambassador to US a ‘moron’ 5 hours ago Sam Francis Political reporter Malu Cursino BBC News A top campaign adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump has called the incoming UK ambassador to the US, Lord Peter Mandelson, “an absolute moron”.
In a post on social media, Chris LaCivita said Lord Mandelson “should stay home”.
Lord Mandelson is one of the best-known figures in British politics, having served in multiple ministerial roles under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before taking up a life peerage in the Lords.
Like other senior Labour figures, Lord Mandelson has a record of criticising Donald Trump, once describing him as “little short of a white nationalist and racist”.
In a recently unearthed interview with an Italian journalist in 2019, Lord Mandelson described Trump as a “reckless and a danger to the world”.
A Trump campaign adviser refers to the new British ambassador to the US as a “moron.”.
five hours prior.
Francis Sam.
political journalist.
Malu Cursino.
the BBC News.
The incoming UK ambassador to the US, Lord Peter Mandelson, has been referred to as “an absolute moron” by a senior campaign adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump.
The statement “should stay home” was made by Chris LaCivita on social media.
The British government’s decision to replace a “professional universally respected ambo [ambassador] with an absolute moron” was bemoaned by Mr. LaCivita, a co-campaign manager for Trump’s presidential campaign.
After holding several ministerial positions under Gordon Brown and Tony Blair before accepting a life peerage in the Lords, Lord Mandelson is among the most well-known individuals in British politics.
He described his appointment as the next ambassador of the United Kingdom to the United States as “a great honor.”.
The Times originally reported that Lord Mandelson would take over for Dame Karen Pierce, whose tenure in Washington, DC, is set to expire when Trump takes office in early 2025.
Known as the “Prince of Darkness” while serving as the spin doctor for New Labour, the 71-year-old will now serve as the prime minister’s liaison with Trump’s incoming government at a pivotal juncture in US-UK relations.
Lord Mandelson, like other prominent Labour leaders, has a history of denouncing Donald Trump, calling him “little short of a white nationalist and racist.”.
The incoming ambassador “described Trump as a danger to the world and ‘little short of a white nationalist,'” according to Mr. LaCivita’s post on X, which focused on those remarks.
Although Mr. LaCivita, a seasoned Republican politician with decades of experience, served as a key advisor to Trump’s 2024 campaign, he is not currently employed by the administration.
“We have big opportunities and challenges in Britain, and it will be a privilege to work with the government to land those opportunities,” Lord Mandelson said in a statement after his appointment. “..”.
Lord Mandelson was “delighted” to be appointed, according to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
He said in a statement, “As we embark on a new chapter in our friendship, the United States is one of our most important allies.”.
“Peter will take our partnership to the next level and bring unparalleled experience to the position. “.
In addition, Sir Keir expressed gratitude to Dame Karen for “her invaluable service for the last four years, and in particular the wisdom and steadfast support she has given me personally since July.”.
Typically, UK ambassadors are civil servants or career diplomats, but Downing Street stated that selecting a prominent Labour politician “demonstrates just how important we see our relationship with the Trump administration.”.
It comes as Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a senior Conservative MP, contested the ruling.
He demanded that Lord Mandelson’s appointment, background, and “whether or not this is reliable or anyway likely to cause offence in the United States” be examined through an upcoming investigation.
“He’s not a diplomatic appointee, he’s a political appointee, and political appointees often carry baggage, especially if they’ve been out of government and out of parliament for some time,” Sir Iain continued.
Lord Mandelson called Trump “reckless and a danger to the world” in a recently discovered 2019 interview with an Italian journalist.
In 2018, he also referred to Trump as “a bully” in an interview with the Evening Standard.
Since being hailed as a possible contender for the position of US ambassador, which is regarded as the most esteemed diplomatic position in the UK government, Lord Mandelson has tempered his criticism of Trump.
He pitched the idea of forging “a new relationship rather than a special one” with the United States on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show in November.
Additionally, he stated on the News Agents podcast that it is “vitally necessary that we build a relationship with President Trump that allows us to not only understand and interpret what he’s doing but to influence it.”.
Additionally, he stated that the Labour government ought to attempt to “reconnect” with Elon Musk, a tech multibillionaire and Trump ally.
Musk, who has been critical of Sir Keir’s administration, has been named head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), a new advisory group that is not a formal government agency.
