Jacinda Ardern takes dig at Trump's US, says NZ 'feels like a calm oasis in a chaotic and difficult world’
Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern has taken a subtle swipe at US President Donald Trump as she compared her nation’s condition to America. Ardern, who has recently won her second term, told reporters on Thursday, November 5 that the tensed environment during the US election makes her country feels like a "calm oasis in a chaotic and difficult world”.
“I'm speaking with you at a time when New Zealand feels like a calm oasis in a chaotic and difficult world,” the 40-year-old said as she continued: “I watched the results of the US election roll in, and I couldn't help but reflect on our own elections in recent years. Increasingly I've come to believe that we have to find ways that strong views can be held, and expressed, but without the accompanying partisanship that stops us from working to build consensus where it really matters.”
Ardern’s comments came as Trump after seeing himself lagging behind Joe Biden claimed that a “fraud on the American nation” was executed. He reportedly cast his doubt over the vote counting. Besides, lawsuits in Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania have been filed by his team to stop the counting of the votes. They have alleged that the Republicans were not allowed to supervise the process to make sure things were carried out without any partiality, The Daily Mail reported.
When the media asked Ardern for her comments on Trump's allegations of fraud, she said, “We have faith in the institutions in the United States. And of course faith that those final votes will continue to be counted and that there will be a final result declared. This is another country's democracy and now it's time for us to let it run its course.” She added: “My job in this role as prime minister is to work with whoever another country decides should be the leader in the same way that New Zealand expects every other country to work with whoever elect as prime minister.”
The Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison also did not openly say his choice for the White House as he stated, “Well, the great thing about the United States, it is a great democracy and it does have great institutions and we have a deep and wide relationship with the United States which is incredibly important to Australia. We are both like-minded and like in so many ways. Our values, our partnerships, economics, security and in so many ways. And I have great confidence in the democracy of the United States and I have great confidence in their institutions and the thing about great institutions and democracies is they deal with whatever challenges come, just like our own does. A great democracy having an election with the greatest turnout it's ever seen in its history is actually a demonstration of democracy working.”
Morrison refused to comment on Trump’s accusations too as he added, “I'm not a participant in the US political process. Australia is a partner with the United States and we respect the decisions that the American people make in their democracy. And we'll be patient and we'll await the outcome of their process. It's not for me to run a commentary on those things and I won't. I work with the President of the United States as the Prime Minister of Australia and I enjoy a very productive working relationship with the President and I will always put Australian's interest first in that relationship.”