Nelson Mandela Foundation condemns 'arrogant, superficial' Trump for alleged insults of South African hero

(Image credit: Sion Touhig/Newsmakers)

published 8 September 2020

In his new book set to be released Tuesday, President Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen alleges that Trump went on a rant about former South African president and anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela after he died in 2013.

Cohen claims that Trump once said Mandela "was no leader" and that he "f---ed up" South Africa, which he described as a "s---hole." In response, the Nelson Mandela Foundation condemned the comments and Trump, calling him "arrogant, superficial, and misinformed" and arguing that he is in no position to "offer authoritative commentary on the life and work of" Mandela.

The comments, if true, are striking, especially coming from someone who went on to become the American president. Mandela is one of history's most iconic civil leaders and, although some of his methods received criticism from the right and far left (for differing reasons) during his fight to end apartheid, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Mandela is now widely revered throughout the world, including in the United States. But Trump, after all, is not known for sticking with convention or refraining from disparaging people otherwise held in high esteem.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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