US science envoy quits over racism
Word ‘impeach’ coded into his letter
IT WAS a coded message of defiance hidden in a resignation letter.
US government science envoy Daniel Kammen has become the latest official to resign over Donald Trump’s response to Charlottesville.
The Professor of Energy at the University of California, Berkeley, listed his reasons for stepping down from his position as State Department science envoy and included a hidden message within his resignation letter.
The one page letter contained a less obvious but powerful message – an acrostic, with the first letter of each paragraph spelling “IMPEACH”.
The renewable energy expert has been in government service since 1996 and served as a state department envoy since 2016.
In his letter posted to Twitter he said the President had “harmed the quality of life in the United States, our standing abroad, and the sustainability of the planet”.
The final straw, however, was Mr Trump’s refusal to immediately condemn white supremacists who led the deadly march in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“My decision to resign is in response to your attacks on the core values of the United States. Your failure to condemn white supremacists and neo-Nazis has domestic and international ramifications,” Prof Kammen wrote.
“Acts and words matter. To continue in my role under your administration would be inconsistent with the principles of the United States Oath of Allegiance to which I adhere.”
In his tweet, Prof Kammen said Mr Trump’s response to Charlottesville “enables racism, sexism, and harms our country and planet”.
Mr Trump slammed the violence that took place, saying there was blame on many sides, but was widely criticised for taking two days to condemn the white supremacists who staged the rally.
Prof Kammen is married to a Nigerian-American woman and the couple has two children.
In an interview with CNN, he said: “I can’t stand with this President and then go home and tell my kids, ‘Gee, I’m working with someone who seems to be promoting neo-Nazis, racism, sexism’.”