Berlin: People have taken to the streets of Berlin, London, Paris and other cities around the world to demonstrate in support of Black Lives Matter protesters in the United States and to vent anger over President Donald Trump’s response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.
But at the top, the leaders of traditional allies of the United States have taken pains to avoid criticising Trump directly, walking a fine line to reconcile international diplomacy with domestic outrage.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau let silence speak for itself when asked to comment on the decision to forcibly clear peaceful protesters outside the White House to make way for a Trump photo-op at a nearby church, standing pensively at his lectern apparently mulling his answer for more than 20 seconds before answering that Canada also suffered from “systemic discrimination” — never mentioning the American president.
“We need to be allies in the fight against discrimination, we need to listen, we need to learn, and we need to work hard to fix, to figure out how we can be part of the solution on fixing things,” he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel sidestepped questions from ZDF public television about Trump last week, saying the killing of Floyd was “really, really terrible. Racism is something terrible, and society in the United States is very polarised.”
When pressed, Merkel conceded that the US president’s “political style is a very controversial one” but would go no further when asked if she had confidence in him.
Merkel’s verbal gymnastics could have been anticipated — in more than 14 years as chancellor, she has steered clear of ever critiquing allied world leaders — but even leaders who typically support Trump, like Hungary’s Viktor Orban or Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu have stayed silent on this issue.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has sought to cultivate close ties with Trump, called Floyd’s death “appalling” and said people have a “right to protest to make their feelings known about injustices such as what happened to George Floyd” but urged peaceful demonstrations.
France’s Emmanuel Macron, who has in the past steered clear of criticising Trump specifically but has been vocal in speaking out against policies like the wine tariffs introduced by the administration, has not made a public appearance since Floyd was killed on May 25. (PTI)
