Donald Trump “gave permission” to his former campaign coordinator to publicly insult Keir Starmer’s choice for the UK’s new ambassador to the US, according to sources close to the president-elect.
The revelation came with a warning that Sir Keir has “turned the special relationship toxic” as sources suggested the prime minister had ignored demands by the Trump transition team that Peter Mandelson not be appointed.
The anger is such that one source said Mr Trump may use his veto to block the choice, though this is seen as unlikely. It is understood that the Trump team stopped answering calls from UK representatives after the news broke.
The Independent revealed yesterday the Trump team’s rage at the decision to appoint Lord Mandelson – nicknamed the Prince of Darkness – as the ambassador in Washington.
Soon after the announcement, Mr Trump’s recent campaign coordinator, Chris LaCivita, posted on X late on Friday that Lord Mandelson is a “moron”.
He wrote: “This UK government is special. Replace a professional universally respected ambassador 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’.”
Now it has emerged that he was given permission to insult Lord Mandelson by the president-elect himself, according to insiders.
“Trump gave permission for Chris La Civita to put out that tweet,” a source close to the president-elect told The Independent.
Earlier, another insider had described it as “a horrible, arrogant” choice and said it meant the UK would be “locked out” of key discussions with the Trump administration.
Since then, sources have told The Independent that the Labour government had approached the Trump transition team about the intention to appoint Lord Mandelson, a former spin doctor, cabinet minister and EU commissioner.
A well-placed individual said: “The Trump transition team previously told them they did not want Mandelson, and they appointed him anyway!”
They added: “The UK-US relationship is no longer special. It is now toxic, and His Majesty’s Government can blame themselves.”
There had previously been anger at Labour’s sending 100 volunteers to help Kamala Harris during the presidential election. The revelation emerged shortly after a dinner aimed at burying the hatchet with Mr Trump, Sir Keir and foreign secretary David Lammy in New York and was seen as “a betrayal”.
It added to concerns over the way that Mr Lammy had previously attacked Mr Trump on Twitter describing him as a “tyrant” and “a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath” – comments which he has since defended.
Foreign minister Stephen Doughty, responsible for the US brief, also organised a 2017 petition to stop Mr Trump from addressing a joint sitting of parliament.
Lord Mandelson – the third person chosen to deal with the crucial US relationship – has also been embroiled in a row over his past comments about Mr Trump.
The Labour peer attacked Mr Trump as “a bully” and “little short of a white nationalist and racist”.
There are question marks over whether Sir Keir will have an invite to the inauguration next month, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will be hosting one of the main parties ahead of the event in Washington. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban are already guests of honour at the inauguration itself.
Announcing the ambassador decision, Sir Keir said: “The United States is one of our most important allies and as we move into a new chapter in our friendship, Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength.”
Lord Mandelson said: “It is a great honour to serve the country in this way. We face challenges in Britain but also big opportunities and it will be a privilege to work with the government to land those opportunities, both for our economy and our nation’s security, and to advance our historic alliance with the United States.”
