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Trump’s mini-me ambassadors are insulting and alienating U.S. allies

Save the undiplomatic diplomats. The president does enough damage to America’s reputation all by himself.

By MAX BOOT

Washington Post
March 6, 2026

President Donald Trump is pursuing an ambitious foreign-policy agenda, which ranges from regime change in Iran to peacemaking in Ukraine. Normally U.S. ambassadors would be on the frontlines of such efforts. Yet in December, the Trump administration recalled more than two dozen career ambassadors, and it has been slow to fill vacancies. The result is that the U.S. lacks ambassadors in such important countries as Brazil, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Iraq, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

Even more troublesome, however, might be the behavior of the ambassadors who are in place. Rather than promoting U.S. interests, many of Trump’s mini-me envoys are alienating their host countries by insulting critics and offending local sensibilities.