Theresa May's experience of Donald Trump a 'warning for her successor'
The prime minister's approach of "cosying up" to the president may, in hindsight, not have been the best policy.
Tuesday 16 July 2019 09:56, UK
"Why don't you go back to where you came from?" Racist insults do not come more hackneyed or crass.
But those were the words of the president of the United States, tweeting about four congresswomen from ethnic minorities.
He tweeted: "Why don't they go back?", before adding: "You can't leave fast enough".
Disgraceful by any measure and embarrassing for friends and allies.
Members of the president's own party have not ventured to criticise the overly racist language.
Downing Street has: The prime minister's spokesman called it "completely unacceptable".
Theresa May can't say she was not warned.
When Donald Trump retweeted Islamophobic fake videos put out by far-right group Britain First she was urged to cancel the invitation to the president for a state visit.
She declined.
We now have confirmation that the man feted with the highest honours and tea with the Queen last month, if not a racist, certainly spouts the language of one.
Add this to the unceremonial defenestration of Britain's ambassador to Washington, Sir Kim Darroch, last week and it is valid to question how wise our approach to Donald Trump has been.
The advice the prime minister chose to follow upon his election was to cosy up; court the president assiduously and it will pay dividends.
Theresa May hastened across the Atlantic to be the first world leader to pay tribute and took with her that invitation from the Queen.
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But you dance with the Donald at your peril.
Yes, he is an anglophile. Yes, he loves the Queen and Winston Churchill.
But he plays by none of the rules, and over his time in office we have seen what he has done - even to the closest of allies.
Officials at the highest level have served loyally only to fall out of favour, been chewn up and spat out.
Whether a secretary of state, attorney general, press secretary or personal lawyer no one is immune from a Trumpian savaging.
And worse than that, he seems to have a reverse Midas touch.
Few have emerged from service close to the president without emerging damaged.
Despite all the hard work cultivating the special relationship with the Trump administration, we have now seen our man in Washington attacked and ostracised, and now Downing Street is having to distance the UK from the president for the most egregious of reasons.
We will never know if Mrs May could have recovered from this mess sufficiently to deliver a post-Brexit special deal with Trump's America.
Given the current nadir in relations it would be quite a feat.
Either way, her experience with this president serves as a cautionary tale for her successors.