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The Nelson Mandela Foundation criticized the statements of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, which denigrated the former South African leader.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and personal fixer, alleged in a new book that the US president did not believe Mandela was a real leader and that South Africa had deteriorated under his rule. The Post said Trump also praised the country’s apartheid-era rule.
“We do not believe that leaders who behave the way Mr. Trump does are in a position to offer authoritative comments on the life and work” of Mandela, the foundation said in a statement on its website.
Cohen, who was an intimate witness to Trump’s business dealings, has had a falling out with the president since he pleaded guilty in 2018 to financial fraud and lying to Congress.
The Post obtained a copy of Cohen’s book, Disloyal: A Memoir, before its publication on Tuesday. Trump’s spokeswoman issued a blanket denial of the book over the weekend.
Mandela was the first black president of South Africa since the end of the white minority rule in 1994 until 1999. He died in 2013.
In its statement, the Mandela Foundation quoted a quote from the former president on leadership: “A good leader can engage in a frank and profound debate, knowing that in the end he and the other party must be closer and thus emerge stronger. You don’t have that idea when you’re arrogant, shallow, and uninformed. “
“We would recommend these words to Mr. Trump for his consideration,” the foundation said.
South Africa’s Department for International Cooperation and Development did not immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment.
Read: Trump called South Africa a toilet and criticized Mandela, claims new book
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