Australian politician forced to apologise after calling JD Vance X-rated slur in new interview
Roger Cook criticised the American VP following his and Trump's row with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy
A politician from Down Under has this week been forced to issue an apologetic statement to the public, after using an explicit term to describe United States' Vice President, JD Vance.
Labour leader Roger Cook - who is currently serving premier of Western Australia - previously went viral for his response to a question asked about the Republican politician during a leadership rally.
A guest speaker asked the 59-year-old to finish the sentence "JD Vance is a..." and was super quick to respond with his savage opinion.
"K**b," Cook immediately quipped back, referencing to a NSFW-word often used to describe male genitalia.
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After the audience subsequently burst into laughter - with some even cheering Cook's brutal honesty - he thought it important to reiterate: "Sorry. You’ve got to have one unprofessional moment, don’t you?
"That was it," he added, smiling.
It is generally believed that the insult may have been in response to 40-year-old Vance's heated confrontation of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday (29 Feb), as per The Independent. Though, this reasoning hasn't been confirmed.
During a meeting between the trio in the Oval Office, Trump shocked attendees by warning his European counterpart he was 'gambling with WW3' amid talks about war with Russia.
Vance, meanwhile, branded 47-year-old Zelenskyy 'disrespectful' for not 'thanking' them for inviting him for peace talks.
Discussing the incident, Cook was asked on Tuesday (4 Mar) whether he believes the Trump administration is heading for a 'dark road', to which he responded: "Well, I certainly think he represents an uncertain one."
"So again let me just say in times of uncertainty you need a steady hand, experienced hand at the wheel."
Later, at the West Australian’s Leadership Matters event, Cook issued an apology for his previous remarks, describing the word used as being part of a 'light-hearted, non-professional moment'.
Adding he 'didn’t mean any offence', he went on to explain: "When I made the comments there was a lot of applause around the room so perhaps some people enjoyed the fun that came with it.
"Other people might have been offended and I apologise."
In the days that followed the catastrophic meeting, between Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy, the latter travelled to the UK for a summit with European leaders hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Though 78-year-old Trump responded by pausing all aid to Ukraine, the European leader responded by issuing a statement about his aims to put the squabble behind them and strive for peace.
In response to his European counterpart's reflective message, Trump seemed to soften whilst making a speech on the matter in Congress, reading out the 'important letter' that Zelenskyy had written.
The note reiterated: "Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians".
Trump also read Zelenskyy's words, saying: "My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence."
After concluding the latter Trump went on to tell Congress attendees he'd been in 'serious discussions with Russia', and had 'received strong signals that they are ready for peace'.
Of the prospect, the US president went on to ask: "Wouldn’t that be beautiful?. It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to halt the killing. It’s time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides."
Topics: Australia, US News, World News, News
Rhianna Benson