Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.
Bruce Heyman, the former U.S. Ambassador to Canada, on Monday slammed Donald Trump’s treatment of Justin Trudeau, and Canada in general, demanding the president apologize for his surrogate’s claim there’s a “special place in hell” for people like the Canadian prime minister.
“That’s unconscionable,” Heyman said.“Anybody who represents the United States of America from the White House using that kind of language with any world leader of any type, I think is uncalled for. When you use it with your best friend, your next door neighbor, your greatest ally, and I think one of your singular best trading partners, it’s completely uncalled for, unprofessional, and I call for, today, an apology. I think he should apologize to the prime minister. But more importantly, he should apologize to the Canadian public. Using that type of language is not professional, it’s not called for, and I tell you, I was deeply disappointed to see this lack of professionalism on his part.”
Heyman added he’s “of course … embarrassed” about Trump’s behavior during the G-7 meeting, arguing the United States “was doing everything it could do to disrupt this meeting.”
“The president, coming late, stands before the cameras and says, ‘Why don’t we add Russia to the group’. I mean seriously, Russia, who took over Crimea, all the violence that’s taken place in Ukraine, the poisoning of people in the U.K., the influence in our election this last time period,” Heyman recounted. “This is completely unacceptable, and he knew it would be.”
Noting the president said last week the most important part about his upcoming meeting with Kim Jong-un os “attitude,” Heyman argued Trump “has had a really bad attitude with his partners and his allies.”
“I think he set the news in a completely wrong direction as he headed off to Singapore,” Heyman said. “I think we’re in a difficult place now, I’d like to see this thing settle down. Let’s use diplomacy and find a path to success with the Canadians in particular.”
Elizabeth Preza is the Managing Editor of AlterNet. Follow her on Twitter @lizacisms.
