(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) It’s getting hot in here…
Haitian President Edgard Leblanc Fils shocked viewers during his Thursday speech at the UN Summit by snatching a jar of water and guzzling it down in front of world leaders, all while live on air.
Fils paused midway through his speech—after denouncing attacks against Haitians and condemning “barbaric” colonialism—and lifted the jar and let water spill from his mouth, drenching both his jacket and the podium during the process.
“Haiti … is not looking for charity but justice, respect—respect for its dignity and its right to a dignified and prosperous,” Fils said toward the end of his speech before taking the odd sip of water.
Fils serves as the president of the Transitional Presidential Council, which has been governing the country since April after gangs forced former Acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry to flee.
Fils’s speech quickly went viral on social media, with left-wing commentators highlighting his rebuke of attacks against Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, a city currently struggling with the mass arrival of foreign nationals.
Others on the right criticized Fils’s bizarre water-drinking display, with many suggesting it exposed his poor ability to lead the poverty-stricken nation, currently facing a mass exodus of citizens.
President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of the mass admission of foreign nationals into the U.S., often warning of clear dangers. In contrast, Democrats argue that criticism against Haitian nationals is rooted in racism.
In what appeared to be a jab at Trump, Fils claimed that “the passions that naturally arise during an election campaign should never serve as a pretext for xenophobia or racism.”
Haiti has faced decades of turmoil, culminating in gangs seizing large portions of the country. Its institutions have been plagued by corruption and wasteful spending.
Haiti’s last elected president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in July 2021 by individuals allegedly hired by Haitian American businessmen.
In the U.S., hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals have entered the country under the controversial CHNV visa program, which also includes Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
