Sacked envoy Phil Goff defends questioning Donald Trump's historical understanding

Phil Goff, New Zealand's former High Commissioner to the UK, sacked for publicly questioning US President Donald Trump's understanding of history, has defended his comments. Goff stated his comments were prompted by the US President's «disgraceful bullying» of Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky, and the «untruthful statements» made by the Trump administration about Russia’s invasion.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters moved quickly to dismiss Goff, stating his position had become “untenable.” Goff, however, maintains he has no regrets and believes his actions will be viewed favorably in the future.

Goff made the first comments about Trump during a live-streamed Q&A event with Finland Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on March 4. Referring to Winston Churchill’s 1938 speech to the House of Commons following the Munich Agreement, asking Valtonen, “President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?”

This question, according to Goff, arose from the “dismay” shared within the diplomatic community in London regarding Trump's stance on Ukraine.

“As one untruthful statement followed another like something out of an Orwell novel, I increasingly felt that the lies needed to be called out," he had said.

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Goff compared the situation to schoolyard bullying, where inaction by bystanders enables the bully. He felt New Zealand’s silence would make the country complicit in Trump's actions. He believed his question, posed at the Chatham House meeting, was “a serious and important question” reflecting the thoughts of many.

“The bully would abuse a victim while all the other kids looked on and were too intimidated to intervene. The