“Yes, yes, everyone does,” Gérard Araud, who retired this spring as the French ambassador, said of his own missives. “It could have been any of us,” said another ambassador, who is still serving and therefore spoke on condition of anonymity.

Environment: Foreign diplomats say Trump-era Washington is something of a black hole, in which crucial American decisions affecting their nations’ trade or troops are delivered without notice.

What’s next: There will be a new British ambassador, presumably appointed after Parliament selects a new prime minister.