Trump Twitter outbursts test US-UK 'special relationship'

The Mail on Sunday's publication of Ambassador Kim Darroch's confidential cables set off a furious Trump Twitter storm.
 
Darroch had called Trump "inept" and his administration "uniquely dysfunctional".
 
Trump tweeted back Monday that Darroch "is not liked or well thought of within the US. We will no longer deal with him." He also welcomed the "good news" that Prime Minister Theresa May was stepping down in two weeks.
 
He followed that up on Tuesday by calling "wacky Ambassador" Darroch "a very stupid guy".
 
All of which creates another headache for UK politicians during a tumultuous stretch in which they must decide how -- or even if -- Britain will leave the EU as scheduled on October 31.
 
Who leaked?
 
The hunt is on for the culprit and the "whodunnit" theories are flying.
 
Most concern the nuanced politics at play in the UK leadership fight between Brexit-backing former London mayor Boris Johnson and underdog Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
 
One popular theory says the leak was meant to punish both Darroch and the politician tipped to replace him for allegedly failing to embrace Brexit in full.
 
This would suggest that the culprit was trying to make sure Johnson -- seemingly assured of May's office -- picks someone who shares Trump's far more skeptical view of the EU.
 
But the leak has also damaged Britain's foreign standing and some talk is focused on how much an old rival like Russian President Vladimir Putin stands to gain.
 
"Of course it would be massively concerning if it was the act of a foreign, hostile state," Hunt told The Sun.
 
Can the ambassador stay?
 
UK politicians of all stripes have bristled at the thought of Trump simply shoving their man out of Washington.
 
Whether Darroch can still perform his duties depends on what Trump actually meant in his tweets.