Matua Winston Goes Full Trump On Phil Goff's Righteous Criticism Of His Government's Foreign Affairs Cowardice

‘Grow some balls’: Phil Goff targets Winston Peters amid silence on Trumps NATO comments

NZME

Matua Winston has gone full Trump on Phil Goff’s righteous criticism of his Government’s Foreign Affairs cowardice…

…lots to unpack here…

Phil Goff has accused Foreign Minister Winston Peters of failing to stand up for New Zealand soldiers after US President Donald Trump said allied troops “stayed a little back” during the war in Afghanistan.

In a sharply worded Facebook post on Saturday, the former high commissioner to the United Kingdom said Peters’ silence in response to Trump’s remarks was “deafening”.

RNZ

…Phil is of course 1000% correct.

This Governments appalling cowardice in the face of Trump has been a stain on our collective honour and mana.

The decision to side with war criminals and not recognise Palestine, the refusal to criticise Trump’s illegal kidnapping of Madura and seizing of Venezuela’s oil, not denouncing Trump’s obscene ‘Board of Peace’…

…and now silence as Trump denigrates the sacrifice of our soldiers?

Trump’s comments came last week in an interview with Fox News in Davos, Switzerland, when questioned whether NATO allies would support the US if it were attacked.

“‘Will they be there, if we ever needed them?’ And that’s really the ultimate test. And I’m not sure of that,” he said.

“You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did – they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”

The remarks sparked outrage among US allies, including the UK, whose prime minister, Keir Starmer, described them as “insulting and frankly appalling”.

Goff contrasted those responses with what he said was silence from New Zealand’s leadership, singling out Peters and his role as foreign minister, for not defending that record.

“No comment has come from any government leader,” he wrote.

“Peters, who claims to lead the patriotic party in NZ, has been typically silent as he has whenever Trump has lied outrageously,” Goff wrote.

Goff said the comments were an affront to New Zealand’s sacrifice in the 20-year conflict.

“For Trump, a man who dodged the draft five times, to belittle the efforts of those who came to the assistance of the US after 9/11, and sacrificed their lives is disgraceful.”

New Zealand lost 10 service personnel in Afghanistan.

Goff, a former foreign affairs and defence minister, said Trump’s remarks were deeply personal.

“Ten New Zealanders died in the war. I attended the funerals of several of them, including my nephew Matt, and saw the grief and pain of their loved ones,” he said.

He also pointed to the actions of Willie Apiata, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during a 2004 operation in Afghanistan.

“Willie Apiata was behind the front line when he won his VC, deep in enemy territory,” Goff wrote, rejecting Trump’s claim that allied forces avoided combat.

RNZ