# Trump's ambassador to the Netherlands doubles down on embarrassing the US **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 22, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051 "2017-12-22T16:00:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/21 "2017-12-23T07:37:05Z")
These jokes are the worst. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/22 "2017-12-23T07:47:50Z")
…the US Ambassador to NZ has been an embarrassment. > [@](#): > > "They understand ‘gosh we’re so far away and it really doesn’t affect us’, well, it does if he [Kim Jong Un] decides to drop a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean. > > “The fallout could come here. It could affect the fishing and all the sealife. It’d dramatically affect climate and economy and the ability to travel freely in that region without being contaminated so yeah, it does affect New Zealand.” [https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/97296667/us-ambassador-kiwis-dont-realise-just-how-much-north-korean-bombs-could-affect-them](https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/97296667/us-ambassador-kiwis-dont-realise-just-how-much-north-korean-bombs-could-affect-them) Scott Brown is of course Ambassador to New Zealand. Who were leaders in the fight to kick nuclear testing out of the pacific because of the damage it was doing to the fishing and all the sealife and to the indigenous peoples. We sailed our navy ships into testing areas as protests. The French sunk a ship in Auckland Harbour because of this. We have a ban on nuclear powered ships. \*This is all taught in our schools. \* Of course we know the dangers of nuclear fallout. Who the hell does he think we are? And more from Brown: > [@](#): > > Brown said the official complaints related to comments he had made at a party in the Samoan capital, Apia, where he told attendees they looked “beautiful” and could make hundreds of dollars working in the hospitality industry in the US. Brown and Huff said they had “no idea” the comments would be regarded as offensive. > **[Scott Brown: US ambassador to New Zealand investigated over inappropriate...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/25/scott-brown-us-ambassador-to-new-zealand-investigated-over-inappropriate-comments)** > > Complaints against Brown, who was Donald Trump’s first ambassadorial appointment after coming into office, surfaced after a trip to Samoa If you’ve never heard a Kim Hill interview before, then have a listen, she’s the best interviewer in the country, and one of the best in the world…its about an hour. > **[Scott Brown - A model ambassador](https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201852036/scott-brown-a-model-ambassador)** > > Scott Brown is the new US Ambassador to New Zealand. Originally trained as a lawyer, during his student years Brown developed a career as a part-time model, and in 1982, won Cosmopolitan magazine's "America's Sexiest Man" contest. He received his law... ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/23 "2017-12-23T13:19:16Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > The Diplomacy of Marshall, Rusk, Acheson, and Dulles? Dead. Gone. Replaced with Commodore Matthew Perry. Could they BE any more undiplomatic? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/24 "2017-12-23T14:44:55Z")
Come on, this administration loves the Dutch. I’m sure Donald would fly in at a moments notice to put a finger in a dyke. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/25 "2017-12-23T16:26:33Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Come on, this administration loves the Dutch. I’m sure Donald would fly in at a moments notice to put a finger in a dyke. Oh, he wasn’t grabbing anyone by the pussy; he was… no, don’t even want to go there! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/26 "2017-12-23T17:38:59Z")
> [@GoodOmens](#): > > Could they BE any more undiplomatic? Well played. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/27 "2017-12-23T21:19:08Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I found it somewhat amusing that this news item came out the same day as this one: > > [https://lawfareblog.com/trump-administration-and-united-nations-good-news-story](https://lawfareblog.com/trump-administration-and-united-nations-good-news-story) > > I’m curious who is responsible for the good work in this case. Nikki Haley? The EU passed a law last year instructing member states to collect and share PNR data, and has entered into treaties to share the data with the US, Canada, and Australia, and is currently in negotiations with Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/28 "2018-01-12T15:22:55Z")
[Hoekstra was asked](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/11/world/europe/dutch-muslims-ambassador-trump.html) by Dutch reporters about the no-go zone claims and the “fake news” denial in a news conference on Wednesday, saying, “I issued a statement, I expressed my regrets and my apology for the comments that I made. And I am not revisiting the issue.” When the reporters asked further questions, he stopped talking. And a nitpick regarding the OP. During the December interview mentioned in the OP, I do not believe he was shown footage of his 2015 remarks. Instead, that video clip was played for the television viewer. The reporter later said he didn’t think it would be necessary to show the video to the ambassador. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/29 "2018-01-14T02:37:59Z")
A bit more information from the NY Times. First, he is Dutch born (not surprising as Hoekstra is obviously a Dutch name). But really strange was that he also claimed that the Muslims in The Netherlands were burning cars and politicians and that there are no-go zones. He gave a press conference when arrived as ambassador and when he was asked about this statement, he said he had already regretted what he had said. When the reporters present asked for further clarification, he clammed up and refused to answer any more questions, sitting mute while they peppered him with questions. Some ambassador. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/30 "2018-01-14T12:37:15Z")
Hoekstra represents everything that I see in modern American “conservatism.” An unflinching belief that he’s right and even if he’s forced to admit that he’s blatantly wrong, he’s not going to apologize for it. I’m glad the Dutch media actually does their fucking job, unlike our media which don’t really know how to. What our press does not seem to understand is that they don’t “win” against the president’s lies by baiting him and his apparatchiks into WWE-style interviews; they win by relentlessly demanding accountability and explanations of falsehoods. The media shouldn’t be exciting or entertaining. They should be demanding, and in America, they’re not. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/31 "2018-01-14T13:45:37Z")
That was my impression; he tried to get away with it because he thought he could get away with it. Outside the USA, standing in front of a couple of head nodding sycophants making a statement in response is not the same as being held to account. Can you imagine President Trump doing this: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BNuCoxx344Y/maxresdefault.jpg "First PMQs of 2018: NHS, reshuffle and economic policy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNuCoxx344Y) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051/32 "2018-01-14T14:15:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [Hoekstra was asked](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/11/world/europe/dutch-muslims-ambassador-trump.html) by Dutch reporters about the no-go zone claims and the “fake news” denial in a news conference on Wednesday, saying, “I issued a statement, I expressed my regrets and my apology for the comments that I made. And I am not revisiting the issue.” When the reporters asked further questions, he stopped talking. > > And a nitpick regarding the OP. During the December interview mentioned in the OP, I do not believe he was shown footage of his 2015 remarks. Instead, that video clip was played for the television viewer. The reporter later said he didn’t think it would be necessary to show the video to the ambassador. Ah. I did misinterpret that. But it seems from Hoekstra’s response that he did realize the content of previous statements and that the recording was available. And his “statement” that he now refers to is the epitome of a non-pology. > [@](#): > > For the last 17 years I’ve been passionate about confronting the global threat of terrorism. This has been a long struggle. > We still have much to learn. I made certain remarks in 2015 and regret the exchange during the Nieuwsuur interview. Please accept my apology. Right out of the Trump/Huckabee Sanders-playbook: “It may be false, but the threat is real!” Apparently he’s now made a more proper apology in a newspaper interview, but seems he’s still hedging it with “I got the country wrong.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-doubles-down-on-embarrassing-the-us/805051.md?page=1)