New Zealand has given United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cold welcome on his whirlwind visit to the pacific country on Tuesday.
The first official top level visitor from the Trump administration to New Zealand was greeted by torrential rain and frosty public mood.
New York Times White House correspondent Gardiner Harris, who travelled with Tillerson, told local news platform Stuff.co.nz that even he was surprised by the negative reaction of the public.
“I’ve been in motorcades for a couple of years now, I’ve never seen so many people flip the bird at an American motorcade as I saw today,” Harris told Stuff.co.nz.
About 150 protesters braved the driving rain and demonstrated against the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal.
In spite of their differences, the meeting between New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English and Tillerson, a former Exxon Mobil chief executive and chairman, appeared to have been cordial.
In a joint news conference, English said that he and Tillerson had “pretty wide ranging discussion about Asia-Pacific.
He said that the secretary reassured him of the ongoing engagement of the U.S. in both the economic, defence and security aspects.
The two politicians also discussed New Zealand’s disagreement with the U.S. administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris accord, and compared notes on their ongoing relationship with China.
Asked about Trump’s love of Twitter, Tillerson said it was up to him.
“The president has his own unique way of communicating with the American people and the world, and it’s served him pretty well,” he said.
