New Zealand Dismisses UK Ambassador Over Remarks on Trump’s Historical Knowledge

New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Phil Goff 

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, announced on Thursday that the country’s ambassador to the United Kingdom had been removed from his post following remarks perceived as critical of U.S. President Donald Trump.

During a forum held in London on Tuesday, Phil Goff made comments that appeared to cast doubt on Trump’s understanding of history. He contrasted the president’s efforts to improve relations with Russia with the leadership of Britain’s wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who had led the fight against Nazi Germany.

"President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?" Goff asked while speaking on a panel alongside Finland’s Foreign Minister, Elina Valtonen.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Peters expressed disappointment over Goff’s remarks.

"They do not represent the views of the NZ Government and make his position as High Commissioner to London untenable," he stated.

Goff did not immediately reply to Reuters when asked for a comment via his X account outside of UK business hours.

According to Peters, Bede Corry, New Zealand’s highest-ranking official in the foreign ministry, was coordinating with Goff to facilitate a transition to a new ambassador.

Goff, who previously served as both a foreign minister and a lawmaker in the center-left Labour Party, had been appointed as New Zealand’s ambassador to the UK in 2023.

Peters, the leader of the populist NZ First party, is part of the right-leaning coalition currently governing New Zealand.