WASHINGTON _ Kelly Craft started as U.S. ambassador to Canada in October 2017, plunging immediately into contentious trade negotiations on behalf of a president who was unpopular there even before he began to insult Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter.
Just three months in, President Donald Trump made new headlines when he called Haiti one of the "s---hole countries" that sent too many immigrants to the United States. Craft immediately called the Haitian ambassador in Ottawa and offered a personal apology _ a harbinger of what Canadian officials say would be a hallmark of her tenure: grace under pressure.
"She's done the job very well when at the top, the relationship is as bad as it's ever been," said Frank McKenna, the former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. who recounted the apology Craft offered.
