A few days after he won the November 2016 US Presidential election, Donald Trump took it upon himself to instruct the UK in how to appoint its diplomats. “Many people would like to see Nigel Farage represent Great Britain as their Ambassador to the United States”, the President-elect tweeted. “He would do a great job!”
Farage lapped it up. Arriving at a party in his honour the following day, he was filmed handing out Ferrero Rocher chocolates in a nod to the confectionery brand’s iconic “ambassador” advert. One person less than impressed was then foreign secretary, Boris Johnson. Johnson was already displeased that Farage had become the first UK politician to meet with Trump, posing for a now infamous photograph in front of the golden lift in Trump Tower. Johnson slapped down the idea of Farage in an embassy role later that same day.
Eight years later, the wheel has turned. Now it’s Boris Johnson attempting to peddle off-label diplomacy with Team Trump. From former Foreign Secretary to former Prime Minister, Johnson has run through a starry list of ex-posts, but he currently holds no official brief for the United Kingdom. That hasn’t stopped him popping up in Milwaukee, where the Republican Party is currently holding its Trump-dictated National Convention.
Team Johnson claim to have been granted 30 minutes of precious face-time with the favourite to win the next Presidential election. (A man who, lest we forget, has promised not to act as a dictator, “except on day one”.) A statement to journalists was delivered from Johnson as if a read-out of a diplomatic call: “It was great to see President Donald J Trump, who is on superb form following the appalling attempt on his life. I noted the courage, resilience and sheer indomitability with which he has responded. We discussed Ukraine at length and I know that he will give the strong and decisive leadership necessary to protect democracy against aggression.”
Let’s be upfront. This is a desperate attempt from an attention-seeking grifter desperate to stay relevant as his former party decides its future without him. (Farage will be taking notes). Regular readers will know I have little sympathy for our former PM – last week I devoted my column to blaming him for the “moral shrinkage” that condemned the Conservative Party to its recent defeat. And yet, like The Music Man, the classic musical story of an all-American con-man, sometimes a grifter accidentally does some good.
The boldest aspect of Johnson’s statement is the stress he lays on Ukraine. His meeting with Trump comes one day after Trump announced his choice of running mate: the ultra-isolationist JD Vance, who as Senator for Ohio has played a central role in blocking US aid to Ukraine and has urged Ukrainians to surrender land to Vladimir Putin. Trump himself has parroted Putin propaganda about Ukraine and he is notoriously hostile to advisers suggesting he is wrong. If Johnson is prepared to risk some of the personal capital he has worked hard to build up with Trump, he should be applauded.
As with all things Boris Johnson, his attempt to salvage support for Ukraine in Trumpworld is self-serving. Johnson sees Ukraine’s survival as his legacy, both as a world statesman and within British politics. His commitment to supporting Ukraine as Prime Minister consistently polled as one of his most popular qualities – a policy position, frustrating for him, shared by both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer – and his visits to Kyiv never failed to generate good headlines. Now, that legacy is at risk.
The prospect of a Trump victory in November – all but guaranteed by the cowardice of a Democratic establishment that refuses to confront President Biden’s decline - is perhaps the greatest threat to Nato’s survival in the 75 years since its foundation.
A Russian success in annexing major portions of Ukraine – highly likely should the US withdraw support as advocated by Vance – would renew Russian confidence, enabling not only its further territorial demands in Eastern Europe, but greater interference in domestic politics overseas. With the stakes this high, we should be grateful to any UK politician willing to talk truth to Trump’s resurgent power.
Nonetheless, we should still be cautious before endorsing freelance diplomacy. Trump builds his network on personal and transactional relationships, but diplomacy conducted this way is only as reliable as those relationships. He may listen to Johnson on Ukraine, but he’s just as likely to listen to Farage, still styling himself Britain’s true Trump-whisperer, also on his way to Milwaukee this week.
Unofficial diplomacy – or rather, politicians hanging out with their fellow-travellers abroad – is fertile with opportunities for charlatans to misrepresent their intentions.
Loosen the Foreign Office’s monopoly on representing the nation, and you get Priti Patel meeting with Israeli officials while “on holiday”, or Jeremy Corbyn hanging out Gerry Adams in the 80s and in the name of “peace-building”. Ukraine’s best British hope may well be Johnson’s attempt to talk sense into Trump. But if so, it is a sign that we are living in dark diplomatic times.