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Ed Roman, former director of communications at the British Embassy in Washington, tells POLITICO’s Westminster Insider how global diplomats should navigate the post-midterms landscape.
LONDON — Donald Trump is badly bruised after this week’s U.S. midterm elections trouncing — but Britain’s diplomatic corps needs to avoid looking like it’s going all-in on the jubilant Democrats.
That’s the advice of Ed Roman, the former director of communications at the British Embassy in Washington. He spent five years on the embassy’s senior leadership team, serving during the Biden and second Trump administrations. It gave him a front row seat as diplomats adjusted to a radical change in U.S. political direction — a task they now face again.
In his first podcast interview since leaving the civil service a month ago, Roman tells POLITICO’s Westminster Insider that British diplomats need to show they can cultivate sophisticated ties with Trump’s possible successors — without provoking the ire of the current White House incumbent. Here are his top tips.
1) Don’t be late to the party
“If you’re doing it now, you’re kind of too late,” Roman says of efforts to schmooze key Democrats who have made it into both the Senate and House this week. The British Embassy has, he says, already been doing its homework, tracking potential Democratic Party contenders throughout the year in anticipation of a wave.
But there’s stiff global competition to build those links first. “The French competitors, the German competitors, the Korean competitors — each embassy is trying to build a network that allows them a level of access,” he says.
In addition to the embassy in D.C., Britain uses its eight U.S. consulates — strategically placed across the country — to help it identify rising politicians outside Washington.
As Roman puts it: “Real politics in America happens in America, out in the states, out in the districts. Knowing those Senate hopefuls ahead of time is always the name of the game.”
2) Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Roman worked under former British Ambassador Karen Pierce, whose team invested considerable effort in cultivating relationships with Trump’s circle during the Biden administration.
Roman believes that work paid “dividends” for Britain in the years that followed, including in landing a U.K.-U.S. trade deal as Trump slapped tariffs on a host of allies.
But he cautions that the next president might not seem as obvious as Trump — who has had an iron grip on his party for years — did back then. “It’s a complete surprise that you always need to watch [out] for,” Roman notes.
It’s vital to build diplomatic relationships with a broad field — including other presidential hopefuls and figures who might end up in a future Cabinet, White House or national security team.
“Yes, you’re looking to identify the front runner, but you’re also looking to get to know the people around them. And very often they’re the people that are useful to you as an embassy,” he says.
3) Hold your ground — but don’t show off
It’s important not to provoke Trump’s ire by making him feel British diplomacy is already moving on. But Roman argues that embassies must also be prepared to defend their right to engage opposition politicians.
“This is perfectly legitimate business, there’s nothing nefarious about this,” he says.
He points to Trump officials openly engaging with British politicians across party lines.
“That is legitimate diplomatic business and there’s a bit of pushback that you sometimes have to do with administrations to be upfront about that,” he says.
There is, however, a big difference between quietly cultivating a future president and publicly advertising the fact.
Roman warns against the temptation to “grandstand a little bit that you’ve just had this brilliant session with [Gavin] Newsom [the Democratic governor of California] or whoever” on social media after meeting a potential successor. “That stuff does irritate the presidency,” he adds.
“Doing it in a discreet way, focusing on the interpersonal rather than the comms bounce that you might get out of it back in London is really key,” he advises.
4) Always big up Britain
Simply getting a meeting with a rising Democrat isn’t enough. British diplomats need to convince prospective presidents that a strong relationship with Britain will actually be useful to them.
He warns that the next generation of American leaders may have fewer historic connections to Britain, meaning the U.K. cannot assume its traditional “special relationship” status will automatically open doors.
“For each generation politically, you’ve always got to, in effect, restate your offer,” he says.
Roman tells the podcast: “You can’t just tip up and say, you know: Hi, I’m John or James or Karen from the British Embassy, let’s have a chat.
“You’ve really got to dig into what their campaign is about, how are we useful to them? What do they understand about Britain? What do they know about Britain? What is Britain’s offer to them if they are successful and they come into power?”
5) Never assume a return to “normal”
Even if Democrats win the White House in 2028, Roman cautions British diplomats not to assume cultivating ties will automatically produce an easier relationship than it has with Trump.
Each country has its own blunt interests, and Roman recalls that the Biden administration was not an uncomplicated partner for Britain.
“There’s a bit of amnesia going on in the sense that the Biden administration were very challenging to deal with,” he says. “They were not particularly sentimental about Britain.”
And he argues that this week’s midterm results should not be mistaken for a wholesale rejection of Trump’s “America First” worldview.
“It wasn’t an embrace of America as a global policeman,” he says. “It wasn’t an embrace of America’s traditional role presiding over the rules-based international order.”
Economic nationalism and skepticism about America’s global responsibilities could survive Trump, Roman believes — including under a Democratic successor. “We would be, I think, ill-advised to draw the conclusion that any form of normalcy will return,” he says.
Ed Roman was speaking to the Westminster Insider podcast. Listen here.