Whoever leaked the British Ambassador to the US’ diplomatic telegrams to London did so with the intent that the resultant tiff that it predictably provoked with Trump would probably make Boris Johnson win the Tories’ leadership vote with a landslide.
The Tories are presently in the process of voting for their next leader to replace outgoing PM May, with ballots having been sent to the party’s members over the weekend, which uncoincidentally also saw the strategic leaking of the British Ambassador to the US’ diplomatic telegrams to London. Sir Kim Darroch reportedly informed his superiors that Trump is “inept”, his government “uniquely dysfunctional”, and even touched upon various gossip related to the so-called “knife fights” that are supposedly causing “vicious infighting and chaos” in the White House. Trump responded by tweeting that the US will no longer deal with Sir Kim, while a British spokesman defended their government’s ambassador for his “honest, unvarnished assessments” even though they also made it clear that his views didn’t officially represent London’s.
I have been very critical about the way the U.K. and Prime Minister Theresa May handled Brexit. What a mess she and her representatives have created. I told her how it should be done, but she decided to go another way. I do not know the Ambassador, but he is not liked or well….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2019
In any case, the timing of this scandal strongly suggests that it was done in order to ensure that Trump’s friend Boris Johnson wins his party’s leadership election and ends up succeeding PM May. He was already the favorite by a long shot after receiving more than double the votes that second-place finisher Jeremy Hunt did during the fifth and penultimate round of voting, but anything could happen by the time that the ballot closes by 22 July so his secret supporter (and/or whoever is behind this individual) probably wanted to do something to guarantee that their political idol would succeed no matter what. Anyone with even the slightest familiarity with Trump’s personality would know that those diplomatic telegrams would infuriate him, especially the reference to “knife fights” that make it seem like the White House is a dangerous as the streets of London.
Instead of being about domestic issues and especially the spectre of Brexit, relations with the US are now suddenly front and center of the Tories’ leadership contest after this strategically timed leak provoked Trump to initiate a superficial crisis with the UK. Truth be told, no matter how unflattering Sir Kim’s portrayal of the White House might be, it’s nevertheless his own impression as influenced by personal experiences and/or hearsay from fellow diplomats and in-country nationals, the latter of which could be people who casually shared their observations with him and his team through small talk at cocktail parties and the like or from informants recruited by the UK’s intelligence agencies to pass along interesting information and insight. Even so, Trump’s ego won’t allow him to accept that someone hostile to him is the UK’s top diplomat in his country.
That’s why he responded the way that he did, but knowing how wily he can be in spite of the “stupid” stereotype that’s associated with him, Trump likely had in the back of his mind that this scandal (which could have very possibly even caused by the CIA/NSA or a US intelligence asset inside the UK Embassy) could likely ensure that his friend Boris Johnson wins the Tories’ leadership election by the end of this month since party voters would understandably see him as the only man capable of getting US-UK relations back on track after this affair. The American President already attempted to interfere in the domestic political affairs of the UK last year when he proudly said that Boris would “make a great Prime Minister”, which was likely motivated by their ideological commonalities pertaining to Brexit and the overall rise of EuroRealist forces in Europe.
Considering this, one can actually describe the British Ambassador’s diplomatic telegram leaks as an effort to “hack” the ongoing election by influencing the 0.2% of the nation that will vote on the UK’s next Prime Minister, pressuring them to put aside their views on domestic issues and Brexit in order to unite around Boris as the only one of the two who could resolve this scandal if he wins. Transatlantic ties with the US are exceptionally important for the post-Brexit UK, and there’s no political force in the country more interested in expanding them than the Tories, so it makes sense that they might feel compelled to overwhelmingly throw their support behind Boris (like they probably were already poised to do anyhow) just to make sure that the so-called “Special Relationship” remains in tact after the diplomatic leaks that were suspiciously timed to coincide with the vote.
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Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.
