- The longtime advisor to presidents died on Wednesday at the age of 100
- Former Secretary of State Nixon met with Trump in 2016 and 2017
- He called attempts to “overthrow” the constitutional system a “serious matter”
Henry Kissinger lent some of his gravity and credibility to Donald Trump after his election and early in his term in the White House, but publicly broke with him after January 6 for trying to “overthrow” the constitutional order.
Kissinger shared his reflections on Trump at age 99, more than a year before the former Nixon secretary of state and national security adviser died at age 100 at his home in Connecticut.
Kissinger, who helped negotiate Nixon’s opening to China and broker a ceasefire in Vietnam after authorizing a massive secret bombing in Cambodia, indicated he was drawn to Trump’s “America First” approach attitude as a candidate.
“When he started out and defended the American national interest, and not just abstract principles, I sympathized with him,” said Kissinger, who fled Nazi Germany in 1938 at the age of 15.
‘But as his position evolved, becoming so centrally focused on one person, turning issues into confrontations, I became less enthusiastic. “I wasn’t excited, but I was hopeful,” he said in a speech interview with PBS from his office in New York City.
Henry Kissinger reflected on Vietnam, Nixon and Donald Trump in an interview a year before his death on Wednesday. He said there is ‘no excuse’ for Trump trying to ‘overthrow’ America’s constitutional system
He didn’t provide details, but Trump famously said in 2016 that “only I can fix it,” and his tenure included clashes with the media he called “fake news,” and his tenure included clashes over Confederate statues with Black Lives Matter protesters. along with infighting among top aides.
“And I met him several times when he became president. Ultimately, it is a serious matter when an American president challenges the constitutional system and attempts to overthrow the constitutional system. And I have no excuse for that,” Kissinger said.
But Kissinger, who sat down with Vietnamese opponents to negotiate the U.S. withdrawal, did not think Trump should be stopped from running again (he is now the Republican Party’s 2024 leader).
‘Not me. “I think if he runs, it has to be weighed by the people who vote,” Kissinger said.
‘No excuse’: Henry Kissinger, who died Wednesday at 100, met and advised former President Trump during his time in office. He said he initially sympathized with Trump’s plan but broke with him on January 6, saying that “trying to overthrow the constitutional system is a serious matter.” He said there was “no excuse.”
Kissinger advised twelve presidents from both parties, including Trump
“He’s a man I have a lot of respect for,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Kissinger in 2017
In the interview. Kissinger spoke of Nixon’s demise even as he defended his handling of Vietnam, a war over which he was deeply conflicted – he himself wrote private doubts as early as 1962.
“Well, he destroyed – he destroyed himself,” Kissinger said of Nixon.
‘And that was partly due to the domestic atmosphere that had arisen around the war in Vietnam. But it is important to remember that war occurred in previous administrations and that Nixon inherited the commitment of 500,000 troops.”
Trump spoke about his relationship with Kissinger during their 2017 meeting. “Henry Kissinger was a friend of mine. I liked him, I respected him, we’ve been friends for a long time… He’s a man I have a lot of respect for.”