Kim Darroch, U.K. Ambassador That Described Donald Trump As ‘Inept,’ Resigns
A scandal over leaked secret diplomatic cables has forced Britain’s Ambassador to the United States, Kim Darroch, to tender his resignation.
According to The Washington Post, the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed his departure from the post on Wednesday, just hours after President Donald Trump unleashed some angry Tweets directed at Darroch, describing him as “wacky” and a “pompous fool.” The President was incensed after the leaked cables showed the ambassador’s disdain for the Trump administration.
In one of the cables leaked to the Daily Mail, the diplomat explained that in order to communicate with Trump, “you need to make your points simple, even blunt.” He also warned the U.K. government that Trump’s “career could end in disgrace” and described conflicts within the White House as “knife fights.”
The British government was thrust into damage control after the leak. The feud was hotly debated in the U.K. as Prime Minister Theresa May will be stepping down in 10 days.
According to CNN, the ambassador made his decision to resign after Boris Johnson, who is vying to replace May, refused to support him.
“The current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like,” Darroch said in a statement released by the Foreign Office.
Kim Darroch resigns after doing what diplomats have long done: Badmouthing their hosts. https://t.co/pKSidUvqAh
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 10, 2019
“Although my posting is not due to end until the end of this year, I believe in the current circumstances the responsible course is to allow the appointment of a new ambassador.”
Trump’s personal attacks on Darroch over the cable scandal, which included the president vowing to no longer work with the diplomat, seems to be what prompted the ambassador’s resignation.
The cables — which were top secret internal communications between the ambassador and the diplomatic headquarters in London — riled Trump to the point that the ambassador said his position was untenable.
Trump fired off a series of tweets about Darroch hours after May’s spokesman said on Tuesday that the veteran diplomat had her support. May told Britain’s Parliament on Wednesday that Darroch’s resignation was a “matter of great regret,” and she lauded him for a “lifetime of good service.”
In his Twitter comments Tuesday, Trump hit with a combined attack of both Darroch and May, chastising the prime minister for failing to effectively execute the Brexit deal with the European Union.
…handled. I told @theresa_may how to do that deal, but she went her own foolish way-was unable to get it done. A disaster! I don’t know the Ambassador but have been told he is a pompous fool. Tell him the USA now has the best Economy & Military anywhere in the World, by far…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2019
An investigation is underway to find out who is responsible for leaking the memos, which is seen as a major breach of diplomatic security.
Johnson said he hoped that the person who leaked the cables “is run down, caught and eviscerated. It is not right that advice to ministers — that civil servants must be able to make in a spirit of freedom — should be leaked.”
Darroch has served at the post in Washington since 2016.
