Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The Nelson Mandela Foundation on Tuesday slammed disparaging remarks allegedly made by United States President Donald Trump about the world statesman.
The claims were made by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen who has released a book claiming Trump disparaged the Nobel Laureate and other African leaders.
“Mandela f---ed the whole country up. Now it's a s---hole. F--- Mandela. He was no leader. Tell me one country run by a black person that isn't a s---hole. They are all complete f---ing toilets,” Trump is quoted on saying in the book which will be released on Tuesday.
The Mandela Foundation said it did not believe leaders who conducted themselves in the way Trump did are "in a position to offer authoritative commentary on the life and work of Madiba (Mandela’s clan name)".
"Reflecting on leadership, Madiba once said: 'A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed'. We would recommend these words to Mr Trump for consideration," the Foundation said in a statement.
Cohen, who previously served as a personal attorney for Trump, alleges in Disloyal: A Memoir that Trump had a "low opinion of all black folks”.
-0- PANA CU/MA 8Sept2020
