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HomePoliticsHow Trump and Musk's interventions immediate diplomatic problem

How Trump and Musk’s interventions immediate diplomatic problem

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Reuters Elon Musk speaks with Donald Trump at a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas, on 19 November 2024.Reuters

In Donald Trump’s first time period, governments all over the world braced for his morning social media posts. What coverage could be reversed, what insult thrown? 4 years on, diplomats are as soon as extra getting twitchy when the solar rises on America’s east coast.

Again then, they discovered to take Trump – because the adage had it – “critically however not actually”. Regardless of many marketing campaign guarantees, he didn’t take the US out of Nato or lock up Hilary Clinton. However can ministers keep so sanguine a second time round?

Trump’s newest morning salvo criticised the UK authorities’s resolution to extend taxes on oil and gasoline companies working within the North Sea, partly to assist fund renewable vitality.

On his platform, Reality Social, Trump responded to a report a couple of US oil agency leaving the area, saying: “The U.Ok. is making a really massive mistake. Open up the North Sea. Do away with Windmills!”

Was this merely a well-known defence of a US agency by Trump and a repetition of his pro-fossil gas instincts? Or was it proof of a larger willingness by the president-elect to intervene in an ally’s personal home insurance policies?

The primary distinction – 4 years on – is that Trump is now not alone on the keyboard; his more and more highly effective fellow traveller, Elon Musk, is much more prolific, utilizing his personal platform, X, to assault the British authorities throughout the board. He has criticised its dealing with of final summer season’s riots, the operating of the economic system and now particularly its angle in the direction of baby abuse scandals.

Musk has issued a torrent of tweets attacking Sir Keir Starmer personally, accusing the prime minister of not doing sufficient to prosecute baby grooming gangs whereas he was the director of public prosecutions.

British politicians can’t stem these posts from throughout the Atlantic. However they will management their response. Throughout Trump’s first time period, governments – and information desks – discovered to pause and take a second earlier than responding to – or reporting – the newest digital missives from the White Home.

So far the Conservatives have chosen to interact with and echo Musk’s agenda. The get together chief, Kemi Badenoch, mentioned a full nationwide inquiry into organised grooming gangs was “lengthy overdue”.

PA Media Tommy Robinson at Folkestone Police Station in October 2024PA Media

Musk has voiced help for the jailed far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also called Tommy Robinson

However the Conservatives balked at Musk’s obvious help for the jailed far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also called Tommy Robinson.

Musk has shared a number of posts on X calling for the discharge of Yaxley-Lennon, who was jailed in October after admitting contempt of courtroom by repeating false claims towards a Syrian refugee.

Alicia Kearns, the Conservative shadow safeguarding minister, mentioned it was “frankly harmful” of Musk to be “lionising individuals like Tommy Robinson”.

As for Labour, it appears eager to keep away from selecting a combat with one of many world’s richest males who may in the future fund a rival political get together. Nigel Farage’s Reform Occasion has mentioned Musk is amongst “plenty of billionaires” fascinated by donating cash for his or her campaigns.

Well being Secretary Wes Streeting mentioned Musk’s feedback about baby grooming scandals have been “misjudged and positively misinformed” however requested the billionaire to work with the UK authorities to sort out on-line baby abuse.

UK politicians aren’t alone in being the goal of Musk’s more and more eccentric interventions. He has described Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany as a “idiot” and the nation’s head of state, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as “an anti-democratic tyrant”. He has additionally known as President Justin Trudeau of Canada “an unbearable software” who “will not be in energy for for much longer”.

Monitoring carefully

So the problem as soon as once more for politicians in Britain and all over the world is to work out which, if any, of those social media outbursts and interventions advantage a response.

In Whitehall, there’s some hope the arrival of Lord Mandelson as the brand new British ambassador may assist stem the circulate of non-public vituperation throughout the Atlantic.

There’s additionally weight being positioned on Trump’s affection for the UK and the Royal Household; he had a superb assembly with the Prince of Wales in Paris in December after the opening of Notre Dame.

Different officers are even musing that the connection between Trump and Musk may show too flamable in workplace.

However for now officers are monitoring their timelines carefully. US social media diplomacy is again and a few of it’s heading our manner.

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