Mouths between European administrations and the White House increased in tone. Now, this case promises to shake things up even more
When it comes to ambassadorships, U.S. diplomats could do a lot worse than being posted to Europe. The residences are huge and life is peaceful – at least west of Kiev. “We are in friendly territory,” says Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland. When disputes arise, most are kept behind closed doors.
But recent public discussions between three U.S. ambassadors and their respective hosts gave Europe a taste of the Trump administration’s firmer, less stuffy approach to diplomacy. For Washington, the arguments are the kind of demanding love the continent needs. For Europe, they are an unnecessary antagonism that violates “basic diplomatic norms”.
This week, Bill White, the US ambassador to Belgium, criticized the country for its approach to Jewish ritual circumcision and accused the country of anti-Semitism.
White criticized Belgium’s handling of a case in Antwerp where three Jewish men who perform ritual circumcisions – known as “mohels” – are being investigated after allegedly carrying out procedures without the presence of doctors. In a long publication on X, White demanded that Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgium’s Minister of Health, intervene in the case.
“FOR BELGIUM, SPECIFICALLY, THEY HAVE TO ABANDON THE RIDICULOUS AND ANTI-SEMITIC ‘ACSCUSE’ AGAINST THE 3 JEWISH RELIGIOUS FIGURES (MOHELS) IN ANTWERP! THEY ARE DOING WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO DO FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,” White wrote.
He called Vandenbroucke “very rude” and claimed the minister had refused to shake his hand or be photographed with him. “It’s clear he doesn’t like America, the country that fought and where tens of thousands of our nation’s children died twice for Belgium’s freedom,” White said.
Maxime Prévot, Belgium’s foreign minister, responded, saying White’s suggestion was “false, offensive and unacceptable.” He clarified that Belgium allows ritual circumcision “when carried out by a qualified doctor and in accordance with strict health and safety standards” and said that White had been summoned to a meeting this Tuesday because of his outburst.
“An ambassador accredited to Belgium has the responsibility to respect our institutions, our elected representatives and the independence of our judicial system,” said Prévot. “Personal attacks against a Belgian minister and interference in judicial matters violate basic diplomatic norms.”
CNN requested comment from the US embassy in Brussels and the State Department.
The controversy is reminiscent of a previous accusation of anti-Semitism made by Charles Kushner, US ambassador to France, against President Emmanuel Macron. In a letter sent to the Wall Street Journal, Kushner – father of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law – accused Macron of having failed to combat the rise in anti-Semitism. Macron responded that Kushner’s brusque letter was a “mistake” and an “unacceptable statement for someone who should be a diplomat.”
This week’s discussion in Belgium came shortly after U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose announced on Feb. 5 that the U.S. would cut ties with Włodzimierz Czarzasty, the speaker of Poland’s lower parliament, the Sejm. Three days earlier, Czarzasty had said at a press conference that Trump “does not deserve” the Nobel Peace Prize he has long coveted.
Rose said Czarzasty’s “outrageous and unprovoked insults” against Trump “have become a serious impediment” to Washington’s “excellent relations” with the Polish government. “We will not allow anyone to harm U.S.-Polish relations or disrespect [Trump]”, he stated.
Tom Rose, US Ambassador to Poland, attends the Freedom250 campaign inauguration ceremony at Kosciuszko Mound in Krakow, Poland, on February 12, ahead of the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who leads a center-left majority in the Sejm, told Rose that “allies must respect each other, not lecture each other. At least that is how we here in Poland understand the partnership.” Rose responded that he “will always defend the president without hesitation, exceptions or excuses.”
Fried, who was ambassador to Poland from 1997 to 2000, notes that the incidents marked a departure from the way diplomacy is traditionally conducted. A diplomat’s job, he notes to CNN, “is to advance the president’s agenda.”
“But this does not necessarily mean that you defend the president from all attacks. You discover (…) how to work within the politics of the country you are in, to advance the president’s agenda. This means, sometimes, ignoring the attacks and concentrating on the agenda”, he reiterates.
Fried praises Rose’s work so far in Warsaw, but warns: “You rarely win a public fight on someone else’s turf. … If we go down the path of fighting on someone else’s turf, we’re going to lose.”
The Trump administration appears, however, to enjoy picking fights on European soil, from Vice President JD Vance’s diss with European allies in Munich to Trump’s frequent Internet outbursts. Fried, who also served as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs during George W. Bush’s presidency, said ambassadors to Europe may be following this more belligerent example.
“They are responding to what they think is expected of them. Unfortunately, that is a reasonable expectation”, he emphasizes. “They’re dealing with a very thin-skinned White House. They may think that if they don’t respond with force, they might be attacked by someone else in Trump’s world.”
But choosing which “attacks” to ignore can bring rewards, he reinforces, remembering how José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero came to power in Spain in 2004, after running a strong campaign against the American invasion of Iraq and accusing Prime Minister José María Aznar of being a puppet of President Bush.
Fried remembers that, after the elections, Bush called Zapatero to congratulate him on his victory. “He basically said, ‘Hey, it was a campaign — I understand. But even if we don’t agree, we have to work together on a number of things, and I’m happy to do that’. Zapatero was stunned. He was heard saying, ‘What? He reaches out to me after everything I said?'”
Bush “knew what he was doing,” Fried concludes. “A lot of problems were avoided because he shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t take it personally. He had his eyes set on bigger prizes.”
