Dritan fell on his head when Donald finished his speech. He said: strong Trump. I know even though I didn't hear him, because he was at the other end of the magnificent hall of the Hilton Washington Hotel, which can accommodate over two thousand people. What could be more than all the wedding halls of the Knjaz Estate combined?! You can imagine the kind of weddings that take place there, and not just prayers. Across from my table was Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Ukrainian Prime Minister, and right next to me, in another company, was Petro Poroshenko, the former President of Ukraine. I grabbed them for a picture and a short conversation, I didn't ask them if they would join the coalition in the elections in Ukraine, whenever they are, because they seemed distant and not very friendly to me. In addition, Zelensky is my favorite. The winner in war should also be the winner in peace. Although Churchill's experience denies this.
President Trump was standing at the podium twenty meters away. He was unavailable for a selfie together. I didn't celebrate his victory like Prime Minister Spajić, you remember "America is back", so Grenell didn't remember me. Like him.
But Mickey was probably right. Which doesn't happen often. America is coming back in a big way - that was the main message of Trump's address. "Just a few steps from here, in the Hall of Fame, stands a statue of John Winthrop, who long ago declared that America would stand as a city on a hill, a light that will illuminate all nations, who will look with eyes fixed on us. Today, almost 400 years after this sermon, we see, with God's help, our city standing taller and shining brighter than ever before - or at least it will soon be so!
Unlike the MNE Prime Minister, I would still wait for it "soon", to see, but I keep my fingers crossed for the US President. With age, a person becomes more cautious, and much simpler or more visible announcements are received with reserve. Although Donald J. Trump captivates in a live performance. The energy and confidence simply radiate. Especially when he says: "One floor below us, a statue of Reverend Graham stands with an open Bible, the page turned to the epistle of the Apostle Paul: Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not give up. "Never give up. Never give up. You can't. What would have happened to me? If I had given up, I wouldn't be here now."
The president's speech, as well as the rally that began with prayer, was an ode to the Almighty and faith, although it turned out that the Trumps do not have "unity in God". Which I liked. Namely, the president confided that his older son, who bears his name, has grown 25 percent in faith, because he finally believed in God. This happened after the failed assassination attempt on Trump, during the campaign. "He told me - Dad, there must be someone who saved your life and I think I know who it is.. And he looked up at the sky! Wow, Don, you've come this far - you've come a long way!"
Although there is only one God, it is clear that the American president prefers one religion - Christianity. He has previously stated that the Bible is his favorite book, and that he has copies from five different publishers. And since everything in the Old Testament begins with Moses, the Hebrew religion and culture are also close to him. Or closer than some others. That is why he mentioned the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th several times in his speech. Not a word about what Netanyahu later did to the Palestinians in Gaza in his revenge campaign.
Finally, what else would such a braggart and narcissist talk about than his own place in history. After all, isn't that logical, when he has everything else - the only thing he lacks is this: "I hope that my greatest legacy, when it's all over, will be that I will be remembered as a peacemaker and a unifier." Although a few minutes earlier he was talking about how Democrats are "against God" and "against religion," that they "wanted men in women's sports," he should be supported. Because if Trump reconciles America and, as he said, brings together both Republicans and Democrats at the same table for dinner, the whole world will benefit from that. And it seems that this goal will be harder to achieve than peace in the Middle East or in Ukraine.
But the Prayer Breakfast is not just a performance by the president of the most powerful country in the world. After breakfast comes lunch. And there it all starts with a prayer, and then special guests get the stage. Of the three chosen, one was Vjosa Osmani, the president of Kosovo. That speaks volumes about the strength of diplomacy and lobbying by our neighbors. I am sorry that the Minister of Urban Planning and Velje Brdo Slaven Radunović skipped lunch. And the prayer. And most of all, Ms. Osmani's speech, you would have seen, namely, if Kosovo was not a "fake" state. A warm personal story about an atypical path for a politician - a child of war, as she said, who was taken away by the politics of hatred (Milošević and company), expelled from her home, hometown, through exile, suffering, poverty, to liberation and return. And to the big stage, now, in Washington. Those were the best-used 12 minutes of a politician I have ever seen in my life. Which was confirmed by the standing ovation of all those present after the speech. It's a pity for Slaven, he was able to find out, learn and conclude something from everything, so when he returned, he would pass it all on to his comrades. Headed by that Vraneš, who promised, next year, and that means this, in Prizren. There will be a desire for them.
When compared to Kosovo, we are a banana state. While Ms. Osmani toured Congress, the Senate, and the State Department, receiving standing ovations from two thousand participants of the Prayer Breakfast, our leaders stayed home. They had more pressing matters to attend to. Jakov, after new tires and a new car, had to finish a new apartment for himself and his family. While Mickey had a stronger excuse: Krvavac was about to leave him, so the fire in the house had to be put out. Because just as Milo couldn't do without Roćko, Aleksa without Boki, Dritan without Porfirije, Miki can't do without Branko either. And let Joanikije get ready.
The new Montenegrin ambassador to Washington, Jovan Mirković, prepared a pleasant surprise at the end. He invited all the participants of the Washington gathering to socialize. And that is the difference compared to the DPS ambassadors and their legacy. They only invited "theirs", that is, Milo's, and sometimes no one. MP Jevrosima Pejović tells me how, while she was on a six-month study tour in Washington in 2018, as part of the IREX program, one of the leading US state agencies repeatedly invited officials at the embassy to come to the presentation of the works of a guest from Montenegro, but no one showed up. Let alone inviting citizen Pejović to visit her country's delegation. The story reminds me of my travels from that time across Europe and the same relationship - formally the ambassadors of the state of Montenegro, in reality behaved as envoys of the DPS, or even Milo Đukanović himself. From Strasbourg, through Brussels and Berlin, to Vienna and Rome. Ambassador Mirković and Minister Ibrahimović promised the gathered that the MFA and missions will now be at the service of citizens. Regardless of their political, religious or ideological orientation. Fingers crossed for them too.
But it is with sadness that I leave the building, in the most attractive part of Washington (Dupont Circle), which was bought back in 1996 by the then head of the Trade Mission, Ratko Knežević. If I remember correctly, the state paid less than a million, and now it is worth 20 times more. But that is also why I am sad, because when you enter the building you have the feeling that, after Knežević, no one has "hammered a nail" there. The interior looks more like an abandoned and dilapidated space than a decent and pleasant place to work and receive important partners and interlocutors. The embassy is a picture of the state, Montenegro looks neglected and unhappy in this world capital. And again the question: what were the wonderful Excellencies of the DPS ambassadors doing, Vlahović, Darmanović, Kaluđerović! They had no time to deal with the business of dog racing and betting, the vilification of enemies of the people, the polishing of the bust of the great leader... Private life and enjoyment, a good salary, good shopping for themselves and special guests - all of that was obviously more important than building a serious service in the interest of the state and its citizens. They had no time to look up at the premises, for example, and see that half of the light bulbs in the chandelier had died, that the water supply network was sagging on the ground floor, that the roof was leaking at the top, that the embassy had no website, and that the walls had last been painted in the last century. And only two large portraits of Peter I and II, hanging on those dark walls, look more like some elementary school work than serious art. The embassy has a one-room apartment in the attic. And now Ambassador Mirković has come up with the idea of offering it to our best artists who would visit for a few months, to create inspired by what the big city has to offer in that field. But before the first guest arrives, the apartment needs to be painted, the water tap replaced, a bed put in, and the oven in the stove needs to be checked to see if it's working or just the hob. Seriously, what about the fridge and washing machine?!
God bless America, as President Trump would say. Can God himself help us, that is the question. I am an optimist, as always. After all, wasn't it harder for Pinki to make his way through Bosnian gorges and Chetnik ambushes to the Supreme Commander in 1942, than for Milatović and Spajić to fly to Washington and get the chance to address a significant gathering like their colleague Osmani?! Or even easier, it's a wonder they weren't bothered by the condition of our house in Washington, which they had visited many times, and that a year or two ago they didn't provide a small budget for its decoration. Nothing more than what was needed for tires and the president's famous seven-seater. God bless Montenegro.
Bonus video:
