After reports over the past week that the Trump administration was considering rejecting the U.K.’s pick of Peter Mandelson to be Britain’s next ambassador to the U.S., David Miliband is now being floated as a possible replacement. Miliband has served in various positions in Labour governments over the years, including as Foreign Secretary under Gordon Brown. However, someone ostensibly close to Trump has told The Sun that Trump would reject him, too.
“Trump doesn’t like Peter Mandelson, but he has no time for David Miliband either. These lefty political appointments are bizarre. They should have kept Karen Pierce or at least brought in a Foreign Office lifer. Miliband would never get to be ambassador. No one called Miliband will stand a chance,” the Trump ally said.
Rejecting an ambassador from another country is extremely rare, and has reportedly never happened to an ambassador between the U.S. and U.K. But rejecting two of them indicates that Trump may pay little attention to the supposedly “special relationship” with Britain—a relationship which has been at the root of many of the U.S.’s worst problems. Trump also has a special disdain for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party after they sent 100 staffers to campaign for Kamala Harris last year. One source told The Independent: “I think he’ll reject them just to elbow Starmer and use it as an excuse to punch Labour.”
It is also considered a possibility that U.K. National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell could become a replacement for Mandelson.
