Slovak PM lashes out at Politico over claims he was shocked by Trump's mental state
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused Politico of attempting to undermine Slovakia's "constructive relationships" with the United States and other countries after the media outlet reported that he was left shocked after a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Politico reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Fico had been shocked by Trump's "state of mind".
Fico has dismissed the report as "lies".
"No one heard anything, no one saw anything, there are no witnesses, but nothing prevented the Politico portal from coming up with lies. It is well known that I am one of the 'favourites' of this portal, where sovereignty, the fight for national interests, and one's own opinion are considered crimes," Fico wrote on X.
Fico noted that he did not speak at the informal summit in Brussels and had "openly criticised this summit, its preparation, and its convening".
"At the summit, I did not speak informally with any prime minister or president about my visit to the US," he said.
According to Fico, there had been "a persistent effort to foil" his visit to the US, similar to what happened with his "visit to Russia, where some EU member states did not even allow me to fly over their territory".
"I agree with many strategies of the US president, but with some I don't. I honestly expected that after my sharp statement on Venezuela, my visit to the US would be cancelled. This did not happen, which makes me appreciate the meeting with the US president all the more," he said.
The Slovak prime minister claimed that Politico's only aim was "to destroy the constructive relationships that Slovakia has with all four corners of the world".
"This also affects the Slovak Republic's interest in diversifying its peace nuclear programme and cooperating with the US," Fico added. "If I need to express a critical opinion, I don't need any bullhorns to do so. Perhaps the example of my proposal on the necessity of replacing K. Kallas [EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – ed.] is sufficient."
It was recently reported that some members of the US Congress want to invoke the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, which allows for the temporary removal of a president if he is unable to perform his duties.
The idea was put forward by Yassamin Ansari, Democratic Party Representative in the House of Representatives.
As evidence of Trump's mental state, the congresswoman presented a letter he sent to the Norwegian prime minister, in which he linked his push to take over Greenland to being overlooked for the Nobel Peace Prize.