U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Warren Stephens has stated that the new UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband was "wrong" in his past public comments about Donald Trump. Stephens made these remarks during an interview on Sky News when confronted with Miliband's previous characterizations of Trump as a "racist idiot."
"Hopefully his views have changed," Stephens said regarding Miliband's past statements, which included calling Trump a "racist, misogynistic self-confessed groper" in 2016 and remarking in 2018 that Trump had "lowered the bar for idiocy."
Stephens suggested that public opinion on Trump may have shifted between 2016 and the current year, 2026, and indicated that he presumed Miliband's views had evolved. "He was wrong then," Stephens added, "people say things, and I've said things, where you come back a few years later and say, 'why did I say that, I don't think that's really right'."
Miliband, who was appointed Foreign Secretary by Andy Burnham, has raised concerns about his ability to manage U.S.-UK relations. He recently held his first discussions with his U.S. counterpart, Marco Rubio, at a summit in the Philippines and has agreed to visit Washington soon.
Beyond the comments on Trump, Ambassador Stephens also indicated disagreements with Miliband on energy policy, stemming from Miliband's previous role as Net Zero Secretary. "It's no secret Mr Miliband and I disagree on energy policies," Stephens said. He noted that their sole face-to-face meeting in Miliband's previous capacity was characterized by their differing views.
Despite these tensions, Stephens stressed that the transatlantic relationship would endure. "But he's in a new role and as Foreign Secretary I'm sure he'll cherish the relationship with the US," he said. "We disagree. That's fine, people do disagree."