President Donald Trump is facing flack from lawmakers from both sides of the aisle for throwing political jabs at the Colombian President.
President Trump, commenting on potentially closing the U.S.-Mexico border over the weekend, said that Colombian President Ivan Duque “has done nothing” when it comes to combating the flow of illicit drugs. Duque stands as one of the United States’ most important allies when it comes to the ongoing effort to oust Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro, but Duque and the Colombian government have not necessarily been viewed as completely innocent.
The country of Colombia has faced controversy over the ongoing struggle the government faces regarding corruption and bribery issues. In addition, the Colombian government has also faced criticism of being complicit in drug trading.
However, though these concerns have prompted many to criticize the Colombian government, Florida lawmakers have instead directed comments at Duque insisting that President Trump should apologize.
For example, freshman Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell expressed that she believes “the president should extend an apology to the President of Colombia.” The reason being that “not only should we be supporting their efforts but there’s a lot more the U.S. can do to support Ivan Duque in his fight against drugs.”
President Trump is infamous for being unfiltered in terms of sharing his thoughts on not only lawmakers but also other heads of state as well.
In speaking about Duque during a sunshine state visit to highlight repairs for Lake Okeechobee’s dike, President Trump told those in attendance, “I’ll tell you something, Colombia, you have your new president of Colombia. Really good guy, I’ve met him – we had him at the White House. He said how he’s going to stop drugs. More drugs are coming out of Colombia right now than before he was president, so he has done nothing for us.”
