The appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington was criticized on Friday by one of Donald Trump’s top campaign strategists, who told the veteran UK politician to “stay at home”.

Chris LaCivita, a Republican political strategist who oversaw Trump’s successful presidential campaign this year, cited Mandelson’s past criticism of Trump as a “danger to the world” and “a little short of a white nationalist.” “.

“This UK government is special,” he wrote in X. “Replace a universally respected professional Ambo with a complete moron – he should stay at home! SAD!”

The post came just minutes after UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed he had chosen Mandelson to replace Dame Karen Pierce, known as “the Trump whisperer” for her work building relationships with future president

Mandelson’s appointment ends weeks of Starmer undecided on whether to send the British political heavyweight to engage with the incoming administration and try to stave off the threat of US tariffs.

Some inside the British Foreign Office urged the prime minister to stick with Pierce, but Starmer’s allies said the prime minister ultimately believed the case was too much to send a big hitter to Washington. , even more so given Mandelson’s experience with trade issues.

“It wasn’t a slam dunk,” said a person close to the process. “The prime minister took his time. There are some in the system who want Karen to continue. That’s another option.”

Mandelson, a minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is a skilled media and political operator, dating back to his days as Labour’s communications chief in the 1980s when he was known as the “Prince of Darkness”.

“He has a big name,” said another official close to the selection. “He can do Fox News and the other TV channels and that’s a big part of the job. He’s in a league of his own.”

But his extensive media record is also a risk. In a 2019 interview he called Trump “a little short of a white nationalist and racist” and argued that even people who have “admiration” for the future president see him as “relentless and danger to the world”.

Mandelson, an EU trade commissioner, was also appointed for his trade expertise, with immediate instructions from Starmer to fend off the threat Britain has targeted as part of Trump’s proposed 10-20 percent tariffs on global imports.

“There is no reason why Britain should be an immediate target,” said one person close to Starmer. “Pedro’s priority is to design the kind of 21st century digital and service economy agreement, but that is a medium-term goal.”

Previous talks of a more ambitious free trade agreement between the two countries have been broken by food standards – the UK has banned chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef.

Starmer briefly considered rival candidates earlier in the year, notably former Labor foreign secretary David Miliband and ex-EU foreign policy chief Lady Cathy Ashton, but quickly dismissed them.

“For a long time it was ‘Peter or not Peter,'” said a Downing Street insider. “I haven’t heard another name mentioned in the ‘or not’ category in recent months. I haven’t know why it took so long.”

Mandelson is close to Starmer but not in his inner circle. The future ambassador was less than diplomatic earlier this year when he suggested Starmer needed to “shed a few pounds”.

The 71-year-old has also been a magnet for controversy over the years. As a minister he was forced to resign twice by the Blair government and his past contact with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein emerged last year.

Last month, Mandelson suggested that Starmer should use Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as a “bridgehead” to build relationships with Trump and Elon Musk. “Did Peter really say that?” a Starmer aide asked at the time.

His seven-year stint as president of the Great Britain China Centre, a non-departmental Foreign Office body, made him a target for Conservative China hawks and likely to go unnoticed by the Trump team.

Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, said: “His public stance and private position on China are very serious.” He noted that Mandelson was the only Labor peer to vote against legislation targeting China’s “genocide” in Xinjiang.

After the vote, Mandelson told colleagues that having a “general definition of genocide in the formulation of foreign policy” would be too broad and difficult to apply, leaving the government with its hands tied. .

Those close to Starmer said the prime minister wanted to wait until Jonathan Powell, national security adviser, and Morgan McSweeney, Downing Street chief of staff, met the Trump team earlier this month before making a final decision. .

During this break, some Foreign Office officials pressed the case for Pierce, who took up his post in Washington in 2020, to continue, even for a year. “He has a very good relationship with the Trump team — that’s an option,” one government official said.

But that was only seen as a stop-gap solution. “He can’t go on forever,” said one diplomat. She is now in contention to become the first female permanent secretary of the Foreign Office.

While Starmer delayed, a formidable coalition of supporters formed behind Mandelson, including David Lammy, the foreign secretary, Powell and McSweeney.

“Keir wants to take his time on those decisions,” admitted a government official. “He did the same thing in choosing a new cabinet secretary and national security adviser. But ultimately the case for Pedro is clear.”

Starmer acknowledged that having a big name and political operator would help open doors for the Trump team. “They will love the fact that Peter has a reputation for brutality,” said a Foreign Office insider.

Mandelson’s belief that Britain can “have its cake and eat it” by developing good trade relations with Washington, Brussels and Beijing is precisely Starmer’s own view which he set out in his foreign policy speech. policy at the Guildhall earlier this month.

Starmer said on Friday: “Peter will bring unparalleled experience to the role and will take our partnership (with the US) from strength to strength.” Lammy said it was “fantastic to welcome Peter back to the team”.

Mandelson, co-founder of the Global Counsel advisory group, said: “It is a great honor to serve the country in this way.” He told friends he would put his business interests “in cold storage” while in his new job.

Lord Kim Darroch, the UK ambassador to Washington during the first Trump presidency, said that most diplomats would accept the case for inserting a political appointee into the Edwin Lutyens-designed ambassador-in-residence at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue.

He told the FT: “These are very turbulent and fragile times. It’s not just about Trump 2 but it’s about Ukraine, China and Nato. In these circumstances it’s good to have someone who can literally pick up the phone P.M.”

For Mandelson it was a good end to the year, after his disappointment last month when he was beaten by Lord William Hague for chancellorship at the university of Oxford.

On Monday he was in hospital having surgery on an aneurysm in the lower aorta, which friends said was “absolutely successful”. His new posting in Washington is expected to begin in early 2025.