london<u+2014>the u.k. government gave a cool reception to a suggestion by u.s. president-elect donald trump that nigel farage, the outspoken leader of an anti-immigrant party, would make a good ambassador to washington. in a break from diplomatic protocol, a post on mr. trump<u+2019>s twitter account late monday said <u+201c>many people<u+201d> wanted mr. farage, chief of the pro-brexit uk independence party, to be britain<u+2019>s envoy. <u+201c>he would do a great job!<u+201d> the tweet said. the administration of british prime minister theresa may responded tuesday with a statement saying the post isn<u+2019>t vacant. <u+201c>we already have an excellent ambassador to the u.s.,<u+201d> a downing street spokeswoman said. mr. farage has emerged as a prominent antiestablishment political figure, even though he holds no elected position in the u.k. government. he backed mr. trump<u+2019>s candidacy in the u.s. and was the first foreign politician to meet mr. trump after his victory this month. ties between the two have emerged as a complication for mrs. may, who has been forced to respond to british media coverage suggesting she is being slighted. britain, a longtime u.s. ally, is eager for u.s. support as it extricates itself from the eu. the nov. 12 meeting at trump tower also underscores concerns that mr. trump will exploit his political relationships to promote his business interests. during the meeting, mr. trump urged mr. farage to campaign against offshore wind farms in the u.k., including the ones in scotland mr. trump has argued would mar the view of one of his golf courses, according to andy wigmore, a media consultant at the meeting. mr. trump last year lost a legal battle against 11 giant wind turbines the scottish government approved off the aberdeen coast. representatives for mr. trump and his company didn<u+2019>t respond to a request to comment. on tuesday, downing street said relations between the u.s. and u.k. were <u+201c>strong and enduring.<u+201d> mr. trump spoke to mrs. may by telephone before he met mr. farage, saying to the prime minister, <u+201c>if you travel to the u.s., you should let me know,<u+201d> according to a person familiar with the conversation. <u+201c>it is totally breaching protocol and tradition for one country to suggest to another who they should pick to represent it,<u+201d> said tim bale, a politics professor at queen mary university of london. <u+201c>if things carry on like this, he is going to throw into doubt the day-to-day relationship between the president and prime minister.<u+201d> the current u.k. ambassador in washington, kim darroch, is a longtime diplomat and former national-security adviser who led the u.k.<u+2019>s response to russia<u+2019>s intervention in ukraine and iran<u+2019>s nuclear threat. mr. farage, a former commodities trader often photographed with a pint and a cigarette at a pub, argued he could help strengthen bonds between washington and london. <u+201c>i have known several of the trump team for years and i am in a good position with the president-elect<u+2019>s support to help,<u+201d> a post from mr. farage<u+2019>s twitter account said tuesday. in recent discussions between u.s. and u.k. officials in london, british officials have said they see <u+201c>potential<u+201d> for the relationship between britain and the u.s. to strengthen under the trump administration, but that they have concerns about some of mr. trump<u+2019>s policies and are waiting to see what policies he pursues, according to a person familiar with the matter. some members of mr. trump<u+2019>s team arrived in washington on friday to help assist with the transition to the new administration. the u.k. wants a free-trade deal with the u.s. mr. trump has said he is receptive, despite his skepticism about other international trade deals. the u.k. is watching mr. trump<u+2019>s stance on the north atlantic treaty organization after he questioned whether european nations are pulling their weight. u.k. foreign secretary boris johnson, who previously accused mr. trump of <u+201c>stupefying ignorance,<u+201d> said britain<u+2019>s relationship with the u.s. was lasting and that the u.k. would underline the importance of the nato military alliance as a guarantor of peace in europe. <u+201c>that is a point, i think, that is well understood in washington, but which we will repeat,<u+201d> mr. johnson said. <u+2014>nicholas winning and alexis flynn contributed to this article. write to jenny gross at jenny.gross@wsj.com corrections & amplifications: members of donald trump<u+2019>s team arrived in washington on friday to help assist with the transition to the new administration. an earlier version of this article incorrectly said they arrived in london. (nov. 23)
u.k. dismisses trump suggestion of nigel farage as ambassador to u.s.  - wsj
jenny gross