Crisis Averted
The US Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown with the passage of a bipartisan funding bill, but the process laid bare the persistent challenges of governance in an era of heightened partisanship and external influences.
US President Donald Trump and his administration were described “inept” and “uniquely dysfunctional” by Britain’s ambassador in the United States, according to leaked diplomatic memos that was published on Sunday.
Ambassador Kim Darroch said, “Trump’s presidency could “crash and burn” and “end in disgrace”, in the cache of secret cables and briefing notes sent back to Britain seen by the newspaper.”
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“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,” Darroch said.
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“To get through to the President, “you need to make your points simple, even blunt”, the Ambassador added.
The paper also said the most damning comments by Darroch described Trump, who was received by Queen Elizabeth II during a state visit to Britain just last month, as “insecure” and “incompetent”.
In response to the leaked memos, the Foreign Office it was “mischievous” but did not deny their accuracy, the BBC reported.
According to an Office spokesman, the public expects diplomats to provide Ministers with an “honest, unvarnished assessment” of politics in their country.
“Their views are not necessarily the views of ministers or indeed the government. But we pay them to be candid,” he said.
“The UK embassy in Washington has “strong relations” with the White House and these would continue despite “mischievous behaviour” such as this leak”, the spokesman added.
US President Donald Trump had discussed concerning issues on Iran and North Korea with British Prime Minister Theresa May over the phone on Friday.
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