UK defends ambassador who called Trump 'dysfunctional' in leaked memos: 'We pay them to be candid'

According to a report from Politico, the British government has responded to the release of leaked private memos from Ambassador Kim Darroch where he described President Donald Trump as "inept" and "incompetent," saying he was just doing his job.

In the memos, that began in 2017 the British ambassador candidly wrote, "We don't really believe this Administration is going to become substantially more normal; less dysfunctional; less unpredictable; less faction riven; less diplomatically clumsy and inept," according to the Daily Mail.

In response to the report, a spokesperson for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office didn't directly address the specific comments made and instead defended them.

“The British public would expect our ambassadors to provide ministers with an honest, unvarnished assessment of the politics in their country,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Their views are not necessarily the views of ministers or indeed the government. But we pay them to be candid. Just as the U.S. Ambassador here will send back his reading of Westminster politics and personalities."

The spokesperson did lament that the private communications had been leaked, saying, "Of course we would expect such advice to be handled by ministers and civil servants in the right way and it’s important that our ambassadors can offer their advice and for it remain confidential.”

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