United National Congress (UNC) senator David Nakhid yesterday doubled down on his castigation of the nation’s two highest officeholders.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Nakhid reiterated his words and once again referred to President Paula-Mae Weekes as an “insipid jackass” and then extended the same description to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley
In a brief video clip circulated on Monday night, Nakhid also referred to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley as a “bully and a coward” because of their alleged roles in the Police Service Commission matter.
In the short clip, Nakhid said if “two young black boys, on the fringes of society, committed a crime they would be held to account”.
“You would be appalled. Lock them under the jail. Hang them, take them to the cleaners. But what is the situation now with Keith Rowley and Paula-Mae Weekes, they’ve done the same thing,” he asked.
He questioned then why two senior officeholders were not being held accountable for also breaking the country’s laws.
“Not two people on the fringes of society, the two most powerful positions, public officeholders in the land has misbehaved in public office,” he said.
“This insipid jackass we have for a President and yes, yes that is what she is because she has facilitated what this bully, this coward called Keith Rowley has done,” he said in the video.
“And let me tell you all something, tyranny is not shooting down ten or 20 people or 30 people in the street,” he said before the clip ends abruptly.
In a telephone interview, yesterday Nakhid said he stood by his words and would not apologise.
“I don’t regret it at all, as a matter of fact, anyone who breaks the law, especially people who should be exemplars and they refuse to even answer any questions relating to those allegations. That cannot be acceptable,” he said.
He said in T&T, everything was “turned upside down”.
“For me, this is a chance for people to examine themselves and see where they fall,” he said.
Nakhid said the President had questions to answer, as his political leader pointed out.
On Monday Senior Counsel Martin Daly also called on both the President and the Prime Minister to justify and explain what happened at President’s House on August 12 and questioned the Prime Minister’s duty to report to the President as governed by the Constitution.
Nakhid said that Daly “could hardly be called a UNC” and yet he made the same call as UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Nakhid said that he has not spoken to his political leader on this matter.
“My political leader has said nothing but speak up and speak to the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, the People’s National Movement has described Nakhid’s statement as “the most disrespectful attack on Her Excellency the President, Paula Mae Weekes” and questioned the “deafening and seemingly exculpatory silence from his political leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar”.
“This is not the first time Senator Nakhid has used his social media pages to launch similar vitriolic, distasteful and demeaning attacks on persons against whom he has some angst, and by his Political Leader’s silent acquiescence, it certainly will not be the last,” he said.
The statement came from Leader of the House of Representatives, Camille Robinson-Regis.
“Though I know I maybe whistling in the wind, I also call on his Political Leader to do the honourable thing by offering a similar apology to Her Excellency and demonstrating her disapproval by revoking his appointment if he chooses not to resign. Like every other citizen of our beloved Republic, Senator Nakhid has a right to disagree with the actions and opinions of any other citizen, including Her Excellency, the President. That right, however, comes with responsibilities,” she said.
She also called on Nakhid to resign as an Opposition Senator.
The PNM’s Women’s League also condemned Nakhid’s comments.
“We call on every right-thinking citizen to reject and condemn the UNC attempts to subvert our democracy. Senator Nakhid viciously attacked the President in an unwarranted attack,” it said.