New Zealand has recalled its top diplomat to the UK Phil Goff after he publicly suggested that the US President Donald Trump was not very knowledgeable about history.
This is reported by The New York Times (NYT).
Phil Goff’s comments came at a meeting of partners on the war in Ukraine at the Chatham House think tank in London. Citing Winston Churchill’s words
This caused laughter from the audience. Thus, the ambassador was probably alluding to Donald Trumpʼs relationship with Putin. Earlier, the American president suggested that Ukraine, not Russia, was responsible for the war.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters called Goffʼs comments "deeply disappointing".
"When you are in this position, you represent the government and politics. You cannot think freely — you are the face of New Zealand," the foreign minister told reporters after the ambassadorʼs dismissal.
Phil Goff was appointed to the position in 2022 under Liberal Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. NYT writes that since then, New Zealand politics has changed dramatically: voters elected the most conservative government in decades.
Winston Peters claims that the diplomat’s suspension is not related to the fact that his comments were specifically about the United States.
“If he had made such a comment about Germany, France, Tonga or Samoa, I would have been forced to take [similar] action,” the minister says.
Still, the incident signals growing concern among Washingtonʼs allies, who are seeking leniency from Trump. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Lacson refrained from criticizing the US president when asked about Trumpʼs conflict with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. Lacson said he still trusted Trump as an ally.
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