U.S. President Donald Trump has attacked the U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and the country's ambassador to the U.S. after a series of candid confidential documents were leaked in which the diplomat called Trump's White House "uniquely dysfunctional" and "inept."
Taking to Twitter on Monday, President Trump lambasted May and Britain's Ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch, who penned the less-than-diplomatic comments that were leaked to a U.K. newspaper and published Sunday.
Trump used the opportunity to criticize Theresa May's handling of Brexit and said that the ambassador "is not liked or well thought of within the U.S." adding that "We will no longer deal with him."
Trump's expression of admiration for Queen Elizabeth II comes after the president enjoyed a state visit to the U.K. last month in which he praised Prime Minister May and the Queen.
Then, Trump had praised the "extraordinary" alliance between the U.K. and U.S. and promised what he said would be a "phenomenal" trade deal with the U.K. once it left the EU.
He also said May had done a "a very good job" in getting the Brexit negotiations to their current point and had said "she's probably a better negotiator than I am." Needless to say, Trump has previously criticized May's approach to Brexit.
The state visit was referenced in the leaked memos that have caused blushes in London. Ambassador Darroch said that Trump and his team had been "dazzled" by their state visit but that while the U.K. might be "flavor of the month ... this is still the land of 'America First'."
The U.K. has scrambled to repair the damage done to its special relationship with the U.S. On Monday, the country's International Trade Minister Liam Fox apologized to Trump's daughter during a visit to Washington.
President Trump first reacted to the furor on Monday, telling reporters that "the ambassador has not served the U.K. well."
The U.K.'s Foreign Office issued a statement in which it said it relied on its ambassadors to "to provide ministers with an honest, unvarnished assessment of the politics in their country" but that those views were not necessarily those shared by the government.
Prime Minister May, who leaves office within the next two weeks because of an impasse over Brexit, had "full faith" in Darroch, according to a Downing Street spokesman. The White House had been contacted about the "absolutely unacceptable" leak, he added. There have been calls for a criminal investigation into the leak.