WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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SOURCE NEW YORK TIMES- AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
Protests against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić were growing more intense and widespread when an unusual guest arrived in the capital this month to meet with the embattled European leader: Donald Trump Jr., President Trump's eldest son, writes The New York Times.
The main points of the New York Times’ extensive analysis of Donald Jr.’s visit to Vučić are reported here:
“Trump’s quick visit, which included a meeting with Vučić to discuss U.S. foreign aid to Serbia, came as the Trump family and Jared Kushner, the U.S. president’s son-in-law, were moving ahead with plans to build a Trump International hotel in Belgrade — the first of its kind in Europe.
The hotel is planned to be built on the site of the former General Staff, which was bombed by NATO 26 years ago, and the land now belongs to the Serbian government. Opposition leaders in Serbia have criticized the agreement and called for its cancellation, raising the possibility that the deal could be undone if there is a change of government.
Trump Jr. used the visit as an opportunity to express his support for Vučić — a trip that perhaps showed the most obvious yet of the entanglement of U.S. foreign policy and the Trump family’s financial interests during President Trump’s second term.
On Wednesday, the Serbian parliament accepted the resignation of the prime minister, bringing down the ruling party and forcing Vucic to form a new government or call new parliamentary elections later this year, creating further uncertainty.
A spokesman for Donald Trump Jr. dismissed any suggestion that his visit created a conflict of interest. He said the trip was motivated by a plan for Vucic to be interviewed for Trump’s podcast, not to interfere in foreign relations or a real estate deal.
“Don runs one of the biggest political podcasts in the world and was in Serbia solely in his role as the host of the podcast for the interview,” said Andy Surabian, his spokesman.
“He was in the country for less than eight hours and at no point did he speak to anyone about the Trump Organization.”
According to two people familiar with the plan, the trip was organized by Brad Parscale, President Trump’s former campaign manager.
Mr. Parscale, now the CEO of a conservative podcast and radio company, also founded a political consulting firm. He offered to advise Vučić during his 2022 presidential campaign, but says he was never hired for the job.
Vučić now faces one of the biggest tests of his nearly eight-year presidency. Protests against his administration erupted in November after a concrete structure collapsed on a train station overpass, killing 15 people. Demonstrators have blamed the disaster in part on government corruption.
Trump Jr.’s visit last week brought a brief respite for Vučić and immediately became a hot topic in Serbia. Vučić and his closest aides have insisted it is a sign of support for the Trump administration despite growing protests on the streets of Belgrade.
“A cordial conversation with Donald Trump Jr., the son of the President of the United States, on bilateral relations between Serbia and the United States, as well as on current issues shaping the global political and economic scene,” Vučić wrote on social media after the meeting.
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić added in a television interview after the visit that “the presence of President Trump’s son provides a great impetus for a great start to relations with the new administration.”
Others in the country, however, had a very different view.
“President Trump’s son is here to try to help Vučić,” said Dragan Jonić, a member of the opposition party in the Serbian parliament. “There is an obvious conflict of interest, because Vučić is trying to hold on to power, while the Trumps want to preserve their real estate deal.”
Vučić’s government signed a deal last May with Affinity Global Development, a company founded by Mr. Kushner. The company plans to invest $500 million to build a 175-room hotel, 1,500 luxury suites and other amenities on the site of a former ministry in Belgrade.
“We are thrilled to be expanding our presence in Europe,” Eric Trump, President Trump’s second son, said in January when the Trump International hotel project was first announced. Eric Trump is the main family member who runs the Trump Organization.
However, Donald Trump Jr. is also executive vice president of the Trump Organization, which manages the family’s hotels, golf courses and other properties, and is helping plan the Serbian hotel project.
Two sources familiar with Donald Trump Jr.’s trip said he was not paid for the visit. However, his flight costs, as well as those of his girlfriend Bettina Anderson, were covered by Parscale, who has a business partner based in Serbia. Parscale declined to comment or reveal the name of his Serbian business partner.
Virginia Kanter, a former ethics adviser at the International Monetary Fund, said Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with the Serbian president was reminiscent of the activities of Hunter Biden, who has been accused by Republicans of using his father, Joe Biden,’s position to secure lucrative foreign deals.
“This is the height of hypocrisy, because they were worried about Hunter Biden, and now they’re doing the same thing,” said Kanter, who also served as a White House ethics lawyer during the Clinton administration.
“Don Trump Jr., as a representative of his father, is using the public office of U.S. president to help the Serbian president stay in power — while at the same time promoting the financial interests of the Trump family. It’s unethical. It’s offensive,” she concluded, according to the New York Times.
