Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Monday released a video of his congratulatory phone call with US President-elect Donald Trump, in which he praised God for protecting President Trump from an assassination attempt in July and said Trump He offered to fly anywhere to congratulate the president in person.
Mr. Prabowo, who has been Indonesia's president since October, made a particularly quick phone call after leaving Beijing, meeting with genocidal communist dictator Xi Jinping and promoting China's predatory Belt and Road Initiative ( They discussed expanding the BRI) and other forms of collective economic protection. According to to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This approach is a marked change from when Prabowo ran for president in 2018, losing to incumbent and potential ally Joko Widodo.
Jokowi, commonly known as former President Jokowi, eventually appointed Prabowo as defense minister, his last post before becoming president. Prabowo benefited from the Trump administration's decision to allow entry despite a longstanding ban linked to human rights abuses, but as a presidential candidate this year he will have to side with either China or the United States. He emphasized and pledged to reject the idea. Improving the relationship between both parties at the same time.
of Jakarta Post Office reported Prabowo announced Tuesday that he is in Washington after a visit to Beijing and plans to meet with outgoing President Joe Biden. white house announced This week, Prabowo is scheduled to meet with Biden to mark the 75th anniversary of formal bilateral relations between Jakarta and Washington.
“The two leaders will also explore ways to strengthen U.S.-Indonesia cooperation as part of their comprehensive strategic partnership,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
The visits to China and the United States are both part of a world tour organized by Prabowo to forge closer ties with other world leaders after the recent presidential election.
Indonesia's president, who leads the world's largest Muslim-majority country, had a more than two-minute phone call with the president-elect on Monday that put Trump on speaker and allowed viewers to hear Trump's comments. The contents of the meeting were made public.
“I am pleased to connect directly with President-elect @realDonaldTrump and offer my heartfelt congratulations on his election as the 47th President of the United States,” Prabowo wrote on social media. “We look forward to strengthening the cooperation between our two great nations and to more productive discussions in the future.”
During the phone conversation, Prabowo congratulated President Trump, saying, “If I could, I would like to call you personally, wherever you are, and I will fly out to congratulate you in person, sir.” I heard him offer.
President Trump thanked Prabowo and praised his “great job” as president.
“And you speak English very well!” he added.
Prabowo also told Trump the country was “shocked” by the assassination attempt in July when a gunman wounded Trump during a televised rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. .
“I am very glad that God Almighty has protected you, Your Excellency,” Prabowo said.
“I just happened to be in the right place, in the right direction,” Trump said, before asking Prabowo about the situation in his country. “Someone was protecting me.” Prabowo provided few details, but recalled a recent meeting with President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
“I want to visit your country someday,” Trump said, adding, “Call me anytime. You have my number.”
Trump won an overwhelming victory over current Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 presidential election, becoming the first president since Democrat Grover Cleveland to win two non-consecutive terms in the White House. The international reaction to Trump's return to power has been met with enthusiastic congratulations from some world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and South Korean President Yun Seok-yew. , these leaders also received personal phone calls from Trump.
Mr. Prabowo became Indonesia's president in October after winning February's controversial presidential election with support from Mr. Jokowi and as the running mate of Mr. Jokowi's son, Gibran Rakabumin Raka. He previously ran for president twice, but lost to Jokowi, who sparked riots in Jakarta in 2019 that some accused Prabowo of instigating. Election observers said Prabowo's victory was largely due to a rebranding of his image on Chinese platform Tiktok and other social media from a brutal military leader to a warm grandfatherly figure. It is said that this is due to this.
@prabowosubianto08
Prabowo's previous fame stemmed from his military career under dictator Suharto, who ruled from 1967 to 1998. Shortly before his ouster, Suharto violently suppressed widespread protests against his continued stay in power. Prabowo was accused of orchestrating the abduction and disappearance of more than 20 student demonstrators.
A 1998 State Department report stated, “Despite General Prabowo's reemergence of admitting involvement in the abduction of nine activists, he was honorably discharged and as of year's end no legal action had been taken against him.'' “It was not done properly,” he said. be familiar with. “Prabowo took no responsibility for the remaining activists who remain missing,” the government-established Joint Fact-Finding Team said in its November 3 report on the May riots and rapes. We called for General Prabowo and all those involved in the abduction to be brought to court.
Prabowo has been banned from entering the United States for decades. The Trump administration rescinded the ban in 2020, citing that he was defense secretary and Indonesia is a key South Asian ally of Washington.
“Minister Prabowo has been appointed as the Minister of Defense of the President of Indonesia, the third largest democracy in the world, who has now been duly elected twice,” said an anonymous Trump administration official. said Reuters, 2020. “He is our counterpart in a very important partnership and it is important that we engage with him and treat him as a partner.”
