FINDING FAVOR

Indonesia’s Leader Shares Video of His Fawning Congratulatory Call to Trump

“Your English is so good,” Trump said at one point in the the call.

Indonesia’s new President Prabowo Subianto is covering all his bases during his trip to the United States. He posted online a nearly three-minute congratulatory phone call to Donald Trump for his 2024 presidential election triumph the day before he was due to meet President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday. The former special forces soldier called Trump “sir” a bunch of times and said he was looking forward to “call personally” on the president-elect to pat him on the back. Trump was equally effusive, telling Prabowo he was doing a “great job” and saying: “Your English is so good.” The Indonesian leader replied: “All my training is American, sir,” referring to his officer training in the U.S. in the 1980s. He was later banned for a period from the U.S. over alleged human rights violations. Prabowo’s visit is to commemorate the 75th anniversary of U.S.-Indonesian relations and explore new ways of cooperating in the future. Clearly, Prabowo is already looking over Biden’s shoulder.

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