Gopee-Scoon: No fears over Trump

In an interview with Newsday yesterday, Gopee-Scoon said, “I don’t expect anything untoward.” She likened the change of US administration from President Barack Obama to President- elect Trump to the impending “Brexit” of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

The former foreign affairs minister said Trump is a legitimately elected President. She expects Caricom to engage President Trump in due course, even as she will monitor the scene.

Gopee-Scoon said the burden of her parliamentary duties means she’s unlikely to watch his inauguration ceremony today but she’d catch up on the news later tonight.

Otherwise, given a recent media posting of a photo of her hugging Obama-impersonator, Reg Brown, under the title, “She’s done it again”, in reference to a previous photo of her and Obama, Gopee-Scoon said it was Obama who had hugged her.

Tabaquite MP Dr Surujrattan Rambachan, a former foreign affairs minister, offered his congratulations to Trump.

“I hope Trinidad and Tobago engages in early conversations with the new US administration, especially regarding security in the region and the cooperation that should obtain”.

He said the former People’s Partnership government had initiatives with the US. “It is very important for TT to strengthen ties with the US and to create new avenues for exporting