British Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson praised President Trump for having an \u201ciron-clad\u201d stomach when taking political risks, arguing that Brexit has allowed the U.K. to forge closer ties with the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President may not follow the traditional rulebook or conventional practice, but he is a risk-taker in a world where a \u2018business as usual\u2019 approach no longer works,\u201d Mandelson said in a keynote speech at The Ditchley Park on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed, he seems to have an iron-clad stomach for political risk, both at home and abroad,\u201d the diplomat added. \u201cConvening other nations and intervening in conflicts that other presidents would have thought endlessly about before descending into an analysis paralysis and gradual incrementalism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mandelson, who was tapped by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the U.K.\u2019s top diplomat in Washington late last year, has made inroads with the administration<\/a> since crossing the Atlantic, helping the U.K. strike the first trade deal<\/a> with the U.S.<\/p>\n The ambassador said on Saturday that Brexit has \u201cfreed\u201d the U.K. to \u201cpursue closer US ties.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBritain has the opportunity to use its regulatory freedom and independence from European law to deepen American investment opportunities. This is crucial as, post-Brexit, we need to leverage every advantage we can to spur UK growth and employment,\u201d Mandelson said. <\/p>\n Mandelson credits Trump\u2019s political instincts in \u201cidentifying the anxieties gripping not only millions of Americans, but also far more pervasive Western trends: economic stagnation for many, a sense of irreversible decline, the lost promise of meaningful work.\u201d <\/p>\n