Britain's ambassador to the United States, Kim Darroch, has described President Donald Trump and his administration as 'inept' and 'uniquely dysfunctional' in leaked diplomatic memos published by the Mail on Sunday. The documents, which include secret cables and briefing notes sent to London, reportedly depict a White House riven by infighting and chaos.
According to the leaked memos, Darroch warned that Trump's presidency could 'crash and burn' and 'end in disgrace'. He allegedly described the president as 'insecure' and 'incompetent', and said the administration was unlikely to become 'substantially more normal; less dysfunctional; less unpredictable; less faction riven; less diplomatically clumsy and inept'.
The ambassador also criticised Trump's foreign policy on Iran as 'incoherent' and 'chaotic', questioning the president's claim that he called off retaliatory strikes to avoid killing 150 Iranians. Darroch reportedly stated that Trump was likely worried about how the reversal would look ahead of the 2020 election.
The Foreign Office did not dispute the veracity of the memos, with a spokeswoman stating that ambassadors are expected to provide 'honest, unvarnished assessments'. She added that the views expressed are not necessarily those of the government, and expressed confidence that the leak would not damage relations with the White House.
