SerpApi.Org
Donald Trump sees Ed Miliband as the “poster child of a lunatic energy policy”, according to a US expert.
Lee Cohen, former foreign policy adviser on US-UK relations to the House of Representatives, warned that the president will not take kindly to Andy Burnham’s new foreign secretary.
He said Miliband, a critic of Trump in the past and a strong advocate for net zero, will not necessarily be a good fit as the UK’s top diplomat.
Cohen told Times Radio: “Appointing Ed Miliband to the Foreign Office is certainly going to be viewed and is viewed with alarm in Washington.
“His longstanding green activism absolutely sits uncomfortably with the energy realism that now defines American priorities.”
Trump has regularly attacked the UK for not drilling for more oil and gas in the North Sea and trashed its use of environmentally-friendly power like wind mills.
The president mistakenly assumed Burnham would be calling for more fossil fuel exploration earlier this week, writing on social media that more drilling “will make the United Kingdom, from a Poverty Stricken Disaster, to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the World!”
But the new prime minister has already insisted he will honour the 2024 Labour manifesto not to issue any new licences for drilling.
Cohen continued: “[Miliband’s] longstanding message of multiculturalism shows, you know, he really comes from a different place than Trump’s world.
“And that’s fine, except that if, this relationship is in desperate need of a reset.
“And having said that, appointing someone with Miliband’s sort of history and narrative to the post really is kind of quizzical.”
Trump fell out with Burnham’s predecessor Keir Starmer after he refused to let American troops use UK military bases for offensive strikes on Iran earlier this year.
The specialist said choosing Miliband as foreign secretary will send a message to the White House.
“It either says that Burnham really hasn’t thought this through terribly well, or, you know, he doesn’t care,” Cohen said. “And it’s quizzical to me because on the one hand, Burnham was focused on making a good first impression in that first call. So it’s really difficult to comprehend.”
He added: “As foreign minister, the engagement between the two countries is key. And, you know, Miliband being at the top of the pile in that foreign relationship, I think really says something.”
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