Former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, who became the subject of internet ridicule after he struggled to down a bacon sandwich, was named foreign secretary by new United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Monday.
Miliband, who served as energy secretary under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, called it the “honor of my life” to be elevated to the top diplomat spot — where he will serve as Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s counterpart and assuredly try to whisper to President Trump amid a volatile international backdrop.
Miliband’s political rise suffered a blow a decade after he was photographed awkwardly trying to eat a bacon sandwich at a London cafe — a gaffe that made him look both out of touch with the public and incapable of handling a simple task.
The unflattering photograph, captured by Jeremy Selwyn for London’s Evening Standard newspaper, sparked #EdEats parodies and brutal online mockery for months.
Miliband, who in 2010 beat out his brother, David, in the race to head the Labour Party, was forced out about a year after the bacon sandwich gaffe — after his lefty political party suffered a massive defeat in the 2015 elections.
An election post-mortem conducted by the Labour Party found that voters viewed Miliband as far weaker than the Conservative Party leader David Cameron and less “prime ministerial.”
Several social media users predicted Miliband would provide more cringeworthy moments as foreign secretary.
“Trump is going to humiliate Miliband repeatedly on the world stage,” one X user wrote. “You thought his eating a bacon sandwich was a meme, you’ve seen nothing yet.”
“Sending Ed Miliband to represent the UK on the world stage? The bacon sandwich photo op was bad enough — now foreign diplomats get to deal with him,” another user chimed in.
“Imagine [Miliband] as Foreign Secretary, moving in diplomatic circles talking like you have half a hamburger stuck in the back of your throat,” read another mocking post, which included a photo of the sandwich incident.
In a statement, Miliband pledged to be a foreign secretary who “fights for Britain’s interests and our values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law on the world stage” and will “nurture our strong, enduring and essential alliance with the United States.”
“Today, as we face a time of greater instability and threat to international law and democracy than at any time since the Second World War, these values are more important than ever,” he said. “From Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine to conflict in the Middle East, time and again we have seen the consequences of a more dangerous world in the cost of living crisis that families and businesses face.”
“For Britain, that means we must work with others to defend the principles that we cherish, because it is in our national interest to do so, building on the excellent work of my predecessors and friends.”
