A US ambassador has taken the rare step of expressing frustration with the Trump administration for complicating American diplomats’ work overseas.
On Wednesday morning local time, soon after FBI Director James Comey was fired, Dana Shell Smith, envoy to Qatar, tweeted: “Increasingly difficult to wake up overseas to news from home, knowing I will spend today explaining our democracy and institutions.”
The exact target of her comment was unclear, but it was widely interpreted as criticizing President Donald Trump for dismissing Comey.
Smith sought to moderate her comments with a follow up tweet Thursday, writing, “diplomats explain & defend our political system. Can be tough when partisan acrimony so high, but there is still no greater country.”
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Shell, a 25-year career foreign service officer with a focus on public diplomacy, is expected to finish her post in Doha this summer.
Trump accepted the customary resignation of all ambassadors who were political appointments at the beginning of his administration, but most career ambassadors have been allowed to stay on for the duration of their terms.
Smith was appointed to the job by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2014 after serving both Democrat and Republican administrations.
“In our connected world, what happens in Washington has relevance. Part of the job is to explain all parts of American democracy. People are fascinated by our country,” a foreign service colleague who is close to Smith told CNN. “She swore an oath, serves our country and makes a good-faith effort to explain what is going on at home, regardless of which party is in office.”
The colleague noted that Smith hosted an Election Night party in November and made remarks the day after Trump’s historic win congratulating the President-elect.
Several diplomats overseas privately acknowledged it was difficult to explain some of Trump’s policies to the world, such as the executive order banning citizens from several Muslim-majority countries.
Smith and other colleagues shared a tweet from another State Department official expressing support for former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who was fired by Trump in January for refusing to comply with the travel ban.
“‘I did my job.’ #SallyYates represents the honorable career people whom unknowing people call the swamp & who are the backbone of republic,” the tweet said.
