Browne chides Kamla over Trump, Biden remarks

MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Dr Amery Browne has chided Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar for her gushing remarks after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on January 20, in which she also slammed the former Joe Biden administration.

Persad-Bissessar dubbed the Biden government "a disaster for the American people and the world."

In a statement, she charged “They focused on pushing a woke, extreme left-wing agenda that offended basic common sense and morality, overturned the norms of civilised public life, disoriented and mutilated children, censored and cancelled dissenting views, disparaged religious and conservative values, fuelled wars around the world, weaponised the judicial system against political opponents and increased nepotism, corruption, crime, poverty, homelessness and wealth inequality.”

Browne, in a Twitter (X) post later on January 20, sharply condemned her remarks as "her most inappropriate, injudicious, inept, imprudent, fawning, tactless, reckless, obsequious, intemperate, and ill-advised utterance to date."

He elaborated, talking to reporters on January 21, as he entered the Red House in Port of Spain for a Senate sitting.

Browne said Persad-Bissessar's phrase "disaster" had probably described her own press release.

"If fact she has really been on a downward spiral in some of the official public utterances.

"It is very disappointing, even by her already low standards.

"Some of the language and phrasing being used is at best undiplomatic and at worst completely ill-advised and actually dangerous to the interests of Caricom and of Trinidad and Tobago."

He said some of her statements were "completely inappropriate to the level of discourse" expected from participants in the national process.

"If you look at the output of government and opposition parties right across the region and hemisphere, no one has descended to that low level of phrasing, of discourse, of blatant partisanship, and really just ill-advised public communications output.

"I am hoping the Leader of the Opposition, if she is able to take good advice, would change course and would make a complete sea-change in the tone and content of her public utterances, particularly when making reference to the sovereign countries with whom we have important relations. We do not get involved in the domestic political affairs of other countries to the degree that she seems to feel might be advantageous to her political prospects."

Browne did not think Persad-Bissessar's remarks would benefit her in practice.

"But I am even more concerned about the implications to the good short-term, medium-term and long-term relations that are important for nations like TT.

"We don't have a big army, we don't have huge resources. We depend on prudent and responsible and wise diplomatic engagements which are conveyed in many ways – summits, meetings, ambassadorial interactions, etcetera – but also via our media releases and public utterances.

"Hopefully, wiser heads would prevail. We can only hope."

Government Senator Ancel Dennis, former head of the Tobago House of Assembly, briefly told reporters, "Her comments were unfortunate and an embarrassment to the people of TT."

Labour Minister Stephen Mc Clashie, who is La Brea MP, told reporters, "I think it is unfortunate and I think for a seasoned politician, those comments have no place in a nation that is not under the protectorate of the US, to make those kinds of statements.

"In my opinion, it is undignified and completely lacking in political wisdom."