Thread by @ChrisBrosnahan

The US should pay more attention to the Kim Darroch story. It's an even bigger Trump story than it seemed, but US followers may not appreciate who's involved.

A leak happened with the intention of damaging the UK government by deposing the UK ambassador to the US.
/1

The source who leaked the details went to Isabel Oakeshott (who was also the journalist who wrote the hilarious David Cameron/pig's head story). It's just been revealed she's in a relationship with the chairman of the Brexit party, Richard Tice.
/2

Richard Tice is also one of the founders of Leave.EU, which has been the subject of a lot of interest for their spending during campaigns and how they worked with dodgy ol' Cambridge Analytica, who were also part of Trump's campaign.
/3

Cambridge Analytica were the personal data harvesting group that were that big Facebook scandal.
/4

Now, the other main figure in the Brexit Party is Nigel Farage, who you've almost certainly heard of. What could have been better reported were his secret meetings with Julian Assange. theguardian.com/politics/2017/…
/5

Trump is close friends with Nigel Farage. He was the first British 'politician' to meet him when he won the election. /6

In fact, here's how much Donald Trump thinks of Nigel Farage, from back in 2016. He thinks he'd make a good ambassador to the US. /7

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/800887087780294656?s=19

At the time, a Downing Street spokesman said: “There is no vacancy. We already have an excellent ambassador to the US.”
What a difference 2 years makes, eh?
theguardian.com/politics/2016/…
/8

Nigel Farage is, predictably, playing for that ambassador role. /9
independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

So, Nigel Farage leads the Brexit Party, and the Brexit Party's chairman is in a relationship with the journalist who broke the story that compromised the UK ambassador. And the Brexit Party has a lot to gain from this. But here's the thing. /10

Kim Darroch didn't have to be compromised. It wasn't a public statement and his opinion of Donald Trump doesn't have to matter. Trump could (and clearly should) have said 'pfft, who cares, playground shit'. It would have been a non-story. /11

Instead, Trump did EXACTLY what was needed to make sure Kim Darroch was compromised. He played his part perfectly. And loudly. /12

This means one of two things.

1. Trump is playing his part intentionally, and he shares an agenda of a party working against the govt of a US ally.

2. They knew exactly how he'd react, and Trump ended up working against the govt of a US ally unintentionally.
/13

If Trump isn't part of this, it should be taken as far more of a security risk that he was played so easily, and that he could do so much damage to the government of an ally.
/14

If Trump's agenda matches that of Farage, Tice and Oakeshott, then there should be a lot more interest in Farage's links to Wikileaks and Cambridge Analytica. Because that's not just a UK story.
/15

Trump isn't always this thin-skinned, btw, so it shouldn't be THAT predictable. Boris Johnson has repeatedly criticised and insulted him. /16
telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/…

Trump has been far more willing to forgive and forget Johnson calling him 'unfit' to be President publicly and now backs him. But Darroch's leaked emails became an issue because of his thin skin. /17
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-484787…

So yeah, if you're in the US, this should concern you. Either Trump is actively undermining allies, or he's an unwitting pawn who can be played publicly. Either way, this should raise serious security concerns. /18