The fallout continued Thursday over President Donald Trump’s retweeting of anti-Islam videos originally posted by a British far-right fringe group. British Prime Minister Theresa May, on a foreign trip to Jordan, told reporters that “retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do,” Reuters reported.
Cipher Brief experts weighed in on the possible long-term fallout on the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship.”
Admiral James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and the Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University:
“I'm in London today, talking to many British friends and colleagues, and there is a palpable sense of deep shock and offense at the tweets. The negative reactions are real and come across the spectrum of British politics. The web site generating the tweets is regarded as racist, execrable and guilty of hate speech – a widely held view from the London cabbie who drove me from Heathrow, to the salesman at the shop, to the Dean of a college at Oxford. In and of itself, it will not have a long-term impact – the bonds and common interests are too strong – but it continues to erode the quality of the "special relationship" and repulses our strongest ally.
“The use of a source like this is part of a pattern of behavior that is consistent with the latest denials of the Billy Bush sexual assault tape to the use of 'Pocahontas' with native Americans — it bespeaks utter thoughtlessness, a sense that nothing can stick, and a disregard for both the truth and the consequences. To think that the President, with complete access to the very highest level of US intelligence, can operate in such a cavalier matter with a obtuse disregard for the truth is deeply concerning. I feel the 'guard rails' around him weakening every day, and I wonder how long 'the Generals' can continue to serve such a master.
“If I were in government, I would point out that elections have consequences and that the tragedy of democracy is that in the end you elect the government you deserve. But the ray of hope is that there are more elections to come, starting in 2018, that may unwind this situation. I would also emphasize the motto of 'ignore the tweets' that many in government are using — instead simply evaluate the actually policy choices, which are much more moderate. Not a good answer to our best global partner, but the best one can say at the moment.”
John McLaughlin, former Acting Director, CIA:
“In tweeting unverified video from an ultra-right-wing source, Trump is breaking every rule of good intelligence tradecraft. He seems to have no grasp of or attach no value to reliability in information. Nor does he understand the damage caused by a president legitimizing this stuff — the hate and division it stirs, the lives it can damage.
“The impact will only be long-term if Trump is long term. I don’t see how he can personally close the breach he’s opened up with this and earlier offenses directed at Britain and its officials. But as [former British Prime Minister] Lord Palmerston said, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests — and I think the interests we and the U.K. share are as close to permanent as things get in foreign affairs.
“If I were in government now, I would be telling my U.K. counterparts: remember that the Special Relationship has as its beating heart the burden-sharing and trust-based ties between our intelligence agencies, which transcend politics and administrations. That will endure, the rest will pass.”
