The incoming British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson praised President-elect Trump in a new op-ed, predicting his forthcoming presidency will be one of the “most consequential” in recent years.
“America’s allies need to hear the message the American people have sent and calibrate their partnerships in order to work with and alongside the U.S. to stand up for the joint interests that unite us,” Mandelson wrote in a Fox News op-ed published on Friday.
Mandelson, who is set to replace Dame Karen Pierce, wrote that he views three areas where the U.K. and the U.S. can expand their long-running partnership: national security, economic growth and foreign policy.
“Five decades as a politician and latterly as a businessman have taught me always to hear your electorate and listen to your customer,” he wrote in the op-ed. “Alliances between foreign nations need to do the same. Foreign relationships must hear these messages and evolve rapidly to deliver for their citizens. The Atlantic alliance cannot simply enjoy its glorious past – it must adapt to new threats and technological challenges.”
Mandelson, a Labour Party politician, argued the U.S. and U.K. national security partnership has to be “clearer in how they keep our people safe.”
“The U.K. has been at the forefront of driving NATO allies to increase their national defense spending and will continue to advocate for partners to pay their way,” he said, referring to the money European nations have spent on defense following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But he emphasized that “Americans are right to ask if NATO partners can do more to reduce the U.S.’s out-sized burden.”
He lauded the partnership between the two long-time allies, going on to say that “we must do more together to invent, develop and industrialize the technologies of tomorrow.”
Mandelson complimented Trump for having “straight-talking and deal-making instincts” that allies should see as an “opportunity to bring entrepreneurial thinking and urgency to resolving foreign policy that needs real-world solutions.”
On foreign policy, Mandelson said the West must not allow Iran to be nuclear-armed and warned that China’s progress on the world stage “now directly challenges Western governments and our values.”
“The Chinese government I have observed intensively over the past 20 years is more aggressive abroad and controlling at home and in many sectors, now directly challenges Western governments and our values,” he wrote.
The incoming diplomat said that in U.K.’s closest allies, the U.S. “will find old partners open to new ways of dealing with the current world – to protect, enrich and build opportunities for Americans and our own citizens alike.”
