'Ed Miliwatt' arrives in Washington: Miliband awkwardly dodges questions over whether he still thinks Donald Trump is a 'racist' and 'misogynist' as he meets US counterpart Marco Rubio

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 16:08, 5 August 2026 | Updated: 16:11, 5 August 2026 Ed Miliband today awkwardly dodged questions over whether he still thinks Donald Trump is a 'racist' and a 'misogynist' as he met his US counterpart. The Foreign Secretary travelled to Washington DC for talks with Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, on Wednesday. Ahead of their talks, as he and Mr Rubio posed for photos, Mr Miliband was tackled over his past comments about Mr Trump. But he ignored the questions over his previous remarks about the US President.  Shaking hands with Mr Rubio, a beaming Mr Miliband said: 'We are looking forward to our meeting.' The pair were expected to discuss efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Ukraine war and the situation in Gaza. Mr Miliband's trip to Washington comes after it emerged that Britain's new Foreign Secretary is known as 'Ed Miliwatt' among senior figures in the Trump administration. The nickname is said to be a joke about the power generated by the Net Zero agenda of Mr Miliband, which he vigorously pursued when he was the UK's energy secretary. Ed Miliband today awkwardly dodged questions over whether he still thinks Donald Trump is a 'racist' and a 'misogynist' as he met his US counterpart. The Foreign Secretary travelled to Washington DC for talks with Marco Rubio , the US Secretary of State, on Wednesday Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, is reported to have been among those to have used the moniker for Mr Miliband. His promotion to Foreign Secretary under Prime Minister Andy Burnham has seen Mr Miliband charged with mending the UK's fraying 'Special Relationship' with the US. But there will be concerns that Mr Miliband's undiplomatic comments about Mr Trump in the past will complicate his job in trying to steady transatlantic ties. In 2018, Mr Miliband branded the US President a 'racist' and 'misogynist' and claimed he had a 'peculiar relationship with Russia'. He also used an interview with GQ magazine to condemn Mr Trump's 'very scary authoritarian tendencies' and vow to join protests against him visiting Britain. Worries about Mr Miliband's suitability as Foreign Secretary - a role once held by his brother David - also stem from his foreign policy stance while he was Labour leader. In 2013, Mr Miliband ordered his Labour MPs to vote against then-PM David Cameron's plan to take military action against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The Cameron government had wanted to attack Syria following reports Assad had used chemical weapons on his own citizens. But Mr Miliband, as Leader of the Opposition, helped to defeat a motion in the House of Commons in favour of joining US-led strikes. The failure by the House of Commons to support military action was later blamed for then-US President Barack Obama pulling his plans to punish the Assad regime. In 2024, in the wake of Assad fleeing to Russia after rebel forces ended decades of his brutal rule, Mr Miliband said he did not regret voting to block an attack on Syria. Mr Miliband's promotion to the Foreign Office - after serving as energy secretary under Keir Starmer - was widely seen as a consolation prize after he was heavily tipped to be named as Chancellor by Mr Burnham. It has been reported that senior officials in Mr Trump's administration had privately warned that appointing Mr Miliband as Chancellor would be a 'mistake'. Top US officials were said to have told senior Labour figures they were concerned about Mr Miliband's opposition to new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Mr Trump himself has frequently criticised the UK Government in public for its stance on fossil fuels. In his latest comments on Monday, the US President said: 'When you look at the UK, they have one of the best energy fields in the world, North Sea oil. 'Now I think your new Prime Minister is going to actually open up the (North Sea), from what I hear. I spoke to him, and he sounded terrific on this subject. 'But you open it up, you'll be a wealthy country. You keep it closed, you're going to be a bankrupt country, which is what you are now. Essentially, you're a bankrupt country.' Mr Miliband was invited to the US capital by Mr Rubio after their recent first meeting on the sidelines of a foreign ministers' summit in the Philippines last month.