Ardern poised to impress
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s star may be high in New York – but there will only be one show in town when United States President Donald Trump visits the United Nations General Assembly.
New Yorkers are bracing for an ‘‘epic’’ security crackdown as Trump and other world leaders arrive for the assembly against a backdrop of global uncertainty and expectations of widespread protests. Ardern and Trump’s paths are bound to cross – she will attend a reception hosted by Trump and they may meet again at lunch with UN Secretary-General Antonio Gueterres.
For years, New Zealand prime ministers have scrambled for an invitation to the White House at least once during a three-year term. But there doesn’t seem to be any urgency for an invitation in Ardern’s camp.
Trump does not have the same cachet in New Zealand, particularly with Ardern’s base.
The two of them also have little common ground. Ardern and Trump are political and personal opposites – Ardern has occasionally been labelled ‘‘the anti-Trump’’ leader.
Like Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron, Ardern represents the group of world leaders who are pushing back against Trump’s retreat into protectionism and nationalism on trade, climate change, immigration and other issues.
Ardern says she has not sought a formal bilateral meeting with Trump. But if she got some face time, she would give him the same message she will be delivering in her speech to the UN, and also taking to some of the events in New York this week, where she is being billed as one of the keynote speakers.
‘‘It’s the emphasis on the importance of multilateral institutions for countries like New Zealand, and now more than ever. If there were [a chance to talk] that’s the kind of thing I’d be interested in talking about. But I have no expectation.’’
This may be Ardern’s first official visit to New York as prime minister – she lived here for a short period before politics – but she is already a darling of US media. She has been regularly featured on The Today Show, where she will be a guest on Monday New York time.
Ardern is also a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – between them the two shows have more than 7 million viewers. When The Today Show travelled to New Zealand to interview a pregnant Ardern, it featured shots of New Zealand, and followed Ardern around a Pacifica festival in New Lynn, for a four-minute segment.
Ardern’s advisers have been at pains to make it known Ardern was approached by both shows, not the other way round.
The high-level meetings start on Monday local time, and thousands of extra police have been drafted in to flood the streets as part of what local media are labelling an ‘‘epic’’ security operation that will include police boats patrolling the East River, near the UN, aviation units overhead and teams of officers trained to respond to chemical, biological and other potential terror threats, according to NBC News. There will also be dump trucks filled with sand and hundreds of concrete barriers strategically positioned to guard against car or truck attacks like the one last year that killed eight people on a bike path in Lower Manhattan, NBC said.
The almost total gridlock is causing logistical headaches for Ardern’s entourage as well – she has a heavy schedule of high level meetings, including some where she has star billing, and one-on-ones with a succession of world leaders.
She also has a baby that needs regular feeding, of course – the solution is a ‘‘front pack’ for partner Clarke Gayford to carry Neve between venues.
Ardern has mooted the subway as an option to get around quicker but the Secret Service apparently frowns on that.