Diplomats defend Mandelson after US aide’s ‘absolute moron’ jibe
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Confirmation of role as ambassador to Washington drew attack by Trump campaign adviser on X. Senior diplomats have dismissed insults aimed at Peter Mandelson by allies of Donald Trump, saying he has more than enough experience in the hard world of diplomacy to succeed as ambassador to Washington.
![[Trump campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles. LaCivita said Mandelson “should stay home!”]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/0facb162bcdd1804df90533a2af53dd3a5d14017/0_0_3280_1968/master/3280.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Foreign Office sources rallied to Lord Mandelson’s defence on Saturday after confirmation of his appointment, which prompted a Trump campaign adviser to call him “an absolute moron”. Mandelson was confirmed on Friday as the UK’s ambassador to the US, a job which will place him in the front line of UK-US relations as Trump threatens a global trade war with huge potential implications for the British economy.
Chris LaCivita, a consultant who was one of the main architects of Trump’s presidential campaign, reacted to news of Mandelson’s appointment with a furious post on X taking umbrage with comments that the former EU trade commissioner had made about the president-elect. “This UK govt is special,” he wrote. “Replace a professional universally respected Ambo with an absolute moron – he should stay home ! SAD! Mandelson described Trump as a danger to the world and ‘little short of a white nationalist’.”.
But a senior diplomat said that LaCivita was unlikely to reflect the new president’s views. “LaCivita is a campaign strategist. He’s not, as far as I know, a current aide or adviser, and won’t be in the Trump White House,” the diplomat said.
