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| Kmoníček: Trump and Zeman “call a spade a spade” |
| Prag, 22.09.2017 |
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| Hynek Kmoníček was President Miloš Zeman’s foreign policy chief prior to becoming Czech ambassador to the US earlier this year, and he still advises the Czech head of state on international affairs.
In recent times Mr. Kmoníček has been working to secure a Washington meeting between Mr. Zeman and Donald Trump, after the former announced in January that he had received an invitation to the White House from then president-elect Trump.
We discussed questions surrounding that visit – and the affinity between the two presidents – when Hynek Kmoníček was in Prague recently.
But I first asked the diplomat how his work was impacted by the high turnover in the Trump administration and its failure so far to fill many posts at the State Department.
“Definitely it makes it more challenging, because normally you would communicate a lot with the State Department, and the State Department would be able to navigate you in other parts of the administration, including the National Security Council.
“With still hundreds of vacant places at the State Department, you must basically follow your own instincts and rely on yourself and navigate yourself in the National Security Council, with all the changes which happen to be there.
“So, maybe surprisingly, I’ve spent three times more time at the White House than in the State Department, because it is time efficiently spent.”
President Miloš Zeman was famously one of the few European leaders who backed Donald Trump for the White House. You’ve worked closely with Mr. Zeman for several years. What is it, do you think, about Mr. Trump and his policies that so appeals to Mr. Zeman?
“I think the main point of appeal for the Czech president was Mr. Trump’s principled stand on the fight against terrorism.
“Because President Zeman feels the danger of militant Islam coming to the European streets as far greater than any other danger, and often misunderstood and underestimated.
“So that part of the Trump agenda was probably very appealing to him.
“There are some places where they would probably disagree.
“For example, President Zeman categorially opposes any kind of economic sanctions and protectionism, which would not go so nicely with the America first agenda – there he would be more European than Trump-like, if you like.
“But definitely the principled stand in the fight against using terrorism as a method of political fight would be the main thing common ground for them.”
Is that the only thing they have in common? Surely any American president would be relatively strong on terrorism?
“Well, relatively strong, but if we follow especially the pre-election rhetoric of candidate Trump, he was very principled on that.
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