Zuhal Demir and US ambassador Bill White trade insults over Trump's 'orange danger'

How the remark started

Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir of the N-VA wrote on X that the 'orange danger' had been brought under control after the Democrats won the US midterm elections, a reference to Donald Trump. She belongs to the same party as Prime Minister De Wever. The comment reached US Ambassador to Belgium Bill White through De Zondag, which put it to him in an interview published on Sunday, 8 November. White asked what Demir meant and wondered whether her choice of words had anything to do with skin colour. He also said he did not think she knew much about politics, and suggested she hoped to win votes with statements like that. The exchange then moved onto X, where both sides posted responses the same day.

Demir's reply and apology

Demir answered on X that Sunday afternoon, after White's remarks had already been published, and she responded to them directly. She stressed that she had not been referring to the colour orange, writing:

“By calling Trump 'the orange threat', I wasn't referring to the colour orange.”

She described Trump as a fundamental threat to democracy and peace, and said she was pleased with the poor results of the midterm elections for him. She also considered it ridiculous that White had turned the remark into a debate about skin colour. Demir then apologised to Trump and to what she called the orange community if her words had been misunderstood. She closed with a jab at the ambassador, describing his stance as a bit 'woke'.

White's counterattack and investments

White responded with a long post on X, defending the president in strong terms:

“Donald J. Trump poses no threat whatsoever and he will not be curtailed.”

He said Trump was the commander-in-chief and that he would always defend the president of the United States. He rejected what he called a vile racist remark, using the term 'local hick' for the minister. In the same post he listed a number of upcoming American investments in Belgium. He also referred to his support for the Kurdish people, a reference that VRT NWS linked to Demir's roots.