UK ambassador says Trump ‘got it right' calling Putin ‘crazy'
British Ambassador to U.S. Peter Mandelson said Tuesday that President Trump 'got it right' when he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having gone 'absolutely' crazy in weekend social media posts.
Speaking at the 2025 Christopher J. Makins Lecture at the Atlantic Council, Mandelson added that both Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and others are 'right' to be looking to the possibility of added pressure on Putin to bring him to the negotiating table.
'I mean crazy in his indifference to international opinion, crazy in his disrespect to the President of the United States and what he's trying to do bring peace but notably gone crazy in the continuing death and destruction that he is visiting upon Ukraine and his people. This weekend saw the biggest single bombing raid of Ukraine, killing so many Ukrainians sleeping in their beds that we've seen since the invasion began,' the diplomat said in Washington D.C.
'Is this a man who's looking for peace? Doesn't look like it to me.'
In recent days, a bipartisan group of senators has prepared a sanctions package that has garnered support from more than 80 members. The measure includes a 500 percent tariff on imports from nations that purchase Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas or uranium.
According to Mandelson, the U.K. 'strongly supports' Trump's initiative to bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to an end, though the U.K. has been far more supportive of Ukraine than the U.S. under Trump. Mandelson added that the war was a 'brutal wake-up call' with 'state-on-state war' returning to Europe and it was 'crystal clear' that Europe must step up funding for its collective security.
'I think President Trump is doing Europe a favor by confronting us with this reality. The United States is the U.K.'s closest defense and security ally. We must become less dependent on America, while remaining inseparably linked to America, a distinction that I underline of critical importance,' he added.
Mandelson's comments come as Trump has become increasingly vocal in questioning Putin's motives, saying Sunday that the Russian leader has gone 'crazy.'
'I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.'
The U.K. has waged a public charm offensive in its relations with Trump, and Mandelson joined the president in the White House earlier this month for the announcement of the administration's first foreign trade deal since Trump's tariff 'Liberation Day.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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