Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

A Danish Think Tank Says The US Ambassador Banned A Trump Critic From An Event

A Danish Think Tank Says The US Ambassador Banned A Trump Critic From An Event

A NATO expert was supposed to speak at an event in Copenhagen but got a letter from event organizers saying Ambassador Carla Sands did not want him there.
The US ambassador to Denmark, a donor to President Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign, has banned a NATO expert who has been critical of the president from speaking at an event in Copenhagen celebrating NATO’s 70th anniversary.

Stanley Sloan, a visiting professor at Middlebury College, fellow at the Atlantic Council and former CIA analyst, was abruptly disinvited from the event by the Danish Atlantic Council, which said the embassy had communicated its displeasure. Sloan tweeted that it was because of his “critical evaluation of Trump’s impact on transatlantic relations.”

“[T]he Danish Atlantic Council via the official channels became instructed that Ambassador Carla Sands does not want presence at the Conference,” Lars Bangert Struwe, the head of the Danish Atlantic Council, with organized the event in cooperation with the US embassy, wrote in an email to Sloan.

The ambassador, Sands, is a former actress, chiropractor, and board member of major California institutions who was confirmed to her post in 2017 after making contributions to Trump’s campaign and inauguration and, according to ProPublica, being recommended by Eliott Broidy. Her official Twitter account looks much like any other ambassador’s, while her personal account is often retweets of articles from far-right outlets like Breitbart and Prager University.

“The US embassy demanded that he be removed as a speaker,” Struwe said in an email to BuzzFeed News. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Sunday, Struwe said the entire event was canceled, saying “the process has become too problematic.” The US embassy in Denmark also issued a series of tweets on Sunday trying to explain its move, saying Sloan’s last minute invite “did not follow the same deliberative process of joint decision-making and agreement that we followed when recruiting all other speakers.”

In the email to Sloan, Struwe wrote that the embassy’s actions were “in total disharmony with the way, the Danish Atlantic Council want to act.”

“Thus knowing that you do criticise the President of the United States, we believe that Freedom of Speech is paramount in every democracy, and we do not see a conflict between the Freedom of Speech and participating as a Speaker at an international conference,” Struwe wrote. “Having said that, the Danish Atlantic Council is not in a position, where we can ignore the given instructions by the Embassy of the United States, when the instructions are clear and specific.”

“They and I basically got caught in this web of Trumpism, which is destructive of our democracy,” Sloan said. “And the fact that I feel that way is one reason they don't want me talking.”

In notes from his talk shared with BuzzFeed News, titled “Crisis in transatlantic relations: what future will we choose?,” Sloan discussed internal and external challenges to NATO and planned to say that the re-election of Trump could further degrade the strength of the transatlantic alliance. Trump has fought often with allies, and focused his energies within NATO on trying to get other alliance members to increase their spending. A NATO meeting in London last week was marred by the release of a video showing international leaders laughing at Trump behind his back.

Sloan told BuzzFeed News he was invited to speak at the conference around 10 days ago and had recently been told he would speak after the ambassador. This morning, he got the email saying his invitation was being withdrawn upon prompting from the embassy. “I've done public diplomacy stuff for 30 or 40 years and frankly I've always taken the liberty to be critical of whatever government was about if I had different ideas. I've criticized Republican and Democratic administrations,” he said. “I always admired the State Department for sponsoring people like me who went out and told what they thought was the truth and the facts and didn't pull their punches. I bragged to American and European audiences about how this shows the strength of our democracy. But it also now shows how our democracy is threatened.”

The incident comes amid increasing attention to Trump’s political appointees, including Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU who is at the center of the impeachment inquiry because of his actions in Ukraine.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×