New Zealand’s most senior diplomat to the UK was fired after seeming to question President Donald Trump’s understanding of history and his handling of Russia. The incident took place during an event hosted by Chatham House, a think tank in London.
Phil Goff, who was serving as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to the UK, apparently tried to draw a contrast between Winston Churchill’s handling of Nazi Germany and Trump’s approach to Russia.
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The New Zealand official said he was re-reading a famous Churchill speech from 1938 in which the British leader blasts then-Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s decision to sign the Munich Agreement with Adolf Hitler.
“President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?,” Goff asked Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, referencing the bust seen during President Trump’s heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Valtonen seemed uncomfortable with the question, saying she would “limit” herself in her response. Rather than saying anything about Trump, the Finnish official said many of Churchill’s remarks were “timeless.”
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When speaking with media, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, who fired Goff, called the diplomat’s question “deeply disappointing.” He also said that it made “his position as high commissioner to London untenable.”
Peters called Goff’s firing “one of the most difficult” things he has had to do in his career. He also said that had the former high commissioner made the statement about any other nation, he would have been “forced to act,” implying that the firing was not because Goff specifically insulted Trump.
“When you’re in that position, you represent the views of the government and the policies of the day – you’re not able to free-think, you are the face of New Zealand,” Peters told the press on Thursday.
Goff has had a storied political career and has served as foreign minister, a Labour Party leader and mayor of Auckland. He was appointed to his position as high commissioner to the UK in 2022.
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