#ETTD even when he doesn’t touch it
by Tom Sullivan
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s main building in Whitehall. Open Government License.
For those who have not encountered it, #ETTD references Rick Wilson’s book Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever. In fact, Trump doesn’t even have to touch anything. Close counts.
The leaking of British ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch’s assessment that Donald Trump is “inept,” “insecure” and “incompetent” has strained relations between the two allies. Not to belabor the point, but Darroch also described the Trump administration is also “dysfunctional”, “unpredictable”, “faction-riven” and “diplomatically clumsy.” Ah, and his foreign policy is “incoherent, chaotic.”
But you knew that. So does Darroch. With thirty years in diplomacy and foreign relations, he’s seen his share of world leaders and knows the sheep from the goats.
Diplomacy, naturally, requires frankness in cables to the home country that might not be advisable in face-to-face negotiations with foreign powers. But someone back home saw fit to leak Darroch’s observations of Trump to the press, Lord Peter Ricketts writes, “in the middle of the Conservative party’s leadership election.” He smells a ratf*cker. (Do they use that term in Britain?)
Of course, hands will be wrung, investigations into the breach will be launched, and whether or not Darroch keeps his U.S. posting will be debated. Donald the Thin-Skinned’s feelings are hurt and trust must be rebuilt.
But why all the fuss? The British government should simply dismiss the Daily Mail’s reporting as fake news and praise Darroch for being politically incorrect and a victim of the Deep State. Because that’s how it’s done in the Trump era. The acting president should be flattered by such sincere imitation.
Diplomatic crisis solved.