Romania’s President Nicusor Dan has appointed a vice premier who was once critical of Donald Trump but insists she has ‘deep respect’ for the US and her comments were made in an “emotional context.”
Oana Gheorghiu, the co-founder of the non-profit organization Dăruiește Viață, which built a hospital for children entirely with private donations, who was officially sworn in as deputy prime minister on Thursday, hit back at critics saying her comments and posts from several months ago were “the personal opinions of a Romanian citizen, a member of civil society, who expressed herself on her social media account, in certain situations, by virtue of her right to free speech.”
“The post that has now triggered critical reactions was made in a highly emotional context — the February meeting in the Oval Office with President Volodymyr Zelensky — which had a direct impact on the way it was written. I was not the only one deeply affected by that event. Of course, looking back, I would no longer write it in the same terms, even if I hadn’t been appointed to a public office,” she said.
“Beyond those emotional moments, my deep respect for the United States of America remains, along with my gratitude for the constant contribution the U.S. has made to Euro-Atlantic security — and therefore to Romania’s security as well — and my confidence in the strategic partnership between Romania and the United States.
In what appeared to be political point scoring, the Social Democratic interim president Sorin Grindeanu claimed her nomination to the post risked compromising Romania’s “relationship with the United States of America… We are heading towards an irreparable diplomatic disaster in relation to our strategic partner,” he claimed.
“Those who dream of high positions in the Romanian state must understand once and for all that every irresponsible statement thrown into the public space directly hits Romania’s strategic interests!,” he said.
“In a Government already full of anti-American voices and critics of the Trump Administration, how do such appointments help and give credibility to Romania’s steps on important issues in relation to the transatlantic ally? I recall Visa Waiver, a step so awaited by all Romanians!”, he added
