US ambassador urges Belgian government to “immediately condemn” Conner Rousseau remarks
The United States ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, has called on the Belgian government to “immediately condemn” statements made by Vooruit chairman Conner Rousseau, according to a letter reported by De Morgen and seen by Belga.
The letter refers to an “official complaint” from the US government concerning an Instagram video in which Rousseau compared US president Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. White described the comparison as “completely unreasonable and unacceptable” and wrote: “The United States calls on the Belgian government to immediately condemn Mr Rousseau’s statements.”
In the letter, White also referred to Rousseau’s much-discussed drunken incident at Café Hemelrijk in Sint-Niklaas, for which he temporarily stepped down as party chairman. “Defamatory remarks are a pattern with Mr Rousseau, who was disgraced two years ago for similar racist remarks,” White wrote. “Belgium and the US are lifelong partners and allies. Our economic, military, cultural, political and other ties are unbreakable. (…) Comments like those of Rousseau cannot be tolerated and must be addressed.”
White presented the letter during a meeting on Tuesday with Theodora Gentzis, Belgium’s top civil servant at the Foreign Ministry. He had been summoned by foreign minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) after criticising a judicial investigation into religious circumcisions in Antwerp, which he described on X as antisemitic. He also labelled Vooruit deputy prime minister and health minister Frank Vandenbroucke “very rude”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it reminded White “of the role and limitations of an ambassador in our country”. Nonetheless, after the meeting, the ambassador reiterated to the press that he hoped religious, non-medical circumcisions would remain legally permitted. VTM Nieuws subsequently reported that Rousseau could risk US sanctions, including a travel ban, over his social media post.
“We have the right to express our concerns”
Speaking to VRT NWS, Rousseau said he would not be intimidated by the White’s intervention.
“I posted that on social media five weeks ago, and yesterday it suddenly turned out to be a problem,” Rousseau observed.
“I suspect that his intervention in the legal proceedings regarding the circumcision did not go as he would have liked and that he is now lashing out a bit wildly and looking for someone to blame.”
Rousseau said he had no intention of deleting the post. “I can only say that we in Belgium have the right—and I also believe we have a political duty—to express our concerns about what's happening in America. I respect the ambassador's opinion, but I also ask for respect for our opinion and that of many Belgians.”
Diplomatic tensions
Prévot has not publicly responded to White’s letter. However, he did react on Tuesday evening to a post on X by Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar, who referred to rising antisemitism in Belgium and responded to Prévot saying, "Dear Minister, I understand that the mirror Ambassador @BillWhiteUSA has held up to you is unpleasant, but one might want to take this opportunity to take a hard look in that mirror and acknowledge reality."
Prévot accused Sa’ar of a pattern and said, “You have taken the real fears of real people and turned them into an argument against Belgium's foreign policy. Jewish Belgians deserve our full protection. They do not deserve to be used as leverage in a dispute about international law."
US ambassador to Belgium Bill White talks to the press after a meeting at the offices of the Foreign Affairs department of the Federal Government in Brussels, Tuesday 17 February 2026. © BELGA PHOTO MARIUS BURGELMAN
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