News

"Dutchman doesn't like conservatives"

21 June 2022
"The Dutch don't like conservatives, and certainly not Republicans."

By: Riekelt Pasterkamp

That's what Pete Hoekstra, the former United States Ambassador to the Netherlands, said Monday night at Falk Panel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Hoekstra was speaking at a meeting of the Christian Council International (CCI).

"Dutch people have a dedain for religious people. Who keeps a faith, I was often told. But if you remove faith and Christianity from a society, what do you put in its place?"

Hoekstra called PVV leader Wilders and FVD frontman Baudet "conservatives" in the Dutch parliament. "When I did business with them, we were always criticized. There was never any comment when I visited Muslims."

Hoekstra was U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands from January 2018 to January 2021. "Dutch people don't understand Americans. They go on vacation to New York or Disneyland and that is their image of America.  How come you guys are voting for Trump, they would ask me. But go to Wisconsin, Michigan or Ohio; that's where Americans live."

By Hoekstra's reckoning, a Republican will return to the White House after the November 2024 presidential election. In early 2021, Donald Trump gave way to Joe Biden.

Pete Hoekstra, the former United States Ambassador to the Netherlands, spoke Monday night at Falk Panel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. More photos

Mr. Pete Hoekstra with Falk Panel