“Lady, who are you joking with?” Edi Rama clashes LIVE with Sidorela Gjoni over Ivanka Trump interview: You are saying…

“Strong clashes took place on Friday afternoon between Prime Minister Edi Rama and journalist Sidorela Gjoni. The head of government was a guest on the show ‘Shqipëria Live’, where he was asked about the protests as well as investments in the Zvërnec area. One of the topics discussed was also the interview given a year ago by the daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, who said she had been fascinated by Sazan and had developed a desire to invest in our country.

“A video that went very viral since the moment the Zvërnec story began was an interview with Ivanka Trump… was the negotiation that simple? She just saw it and took it?”, was the question the journalist addressed to Edi Rama, while this was enough for him to ‘respond back’, pointing out that the question she asked and the way it was formulated was inappropriate and, as the prime minister described it, a “nonsense”.

“I have a question now, are you joking? With whom are you joking, with the public, with yourselves, with the country? With whom are you joking when you say that she saw it and took it, is it that simple?”, Rama replied, while the debate continued and the prime minister reiterated that regarding the Sazan issue there is no final decision, but it remains still in the negotiation phase. On the other hand, Gjoni insisted that she was seeking clarification on the statements made publicly by Mrs. Trump and how they are perceived by citizens.”

Excerpt from the debate:

Sidorela Gjoni: A video that went very viral since the beginning of the Zvërnec story was an interview with Ivanka Trump, who explains how she discovered Zvërnec while swimming nearby and so on. Was the negotiation really that simple? She just saw it and took it? I don’t know how it works?

Rama: I have a question now, are you joking? With whom are you joking, with the public, with yourselves, with the country? With whom are you joking when you say she saw it and took it, is it that simple? Once again, madam, madam, where did she take it? How did she take it? Who are you joking with? You are joking with the people who follow you and seek to be informed, because fools do not joke with me. With whom are you joking? No, did you not say this? Was it that easy? What did she take? Whom did she take?

Gjoni: Zvërnec, for investment.

Edi Rama: She is not talking about Zvërnec, she is talking about Sazan. What did she take, how did she take it? You bring up a nonsense and I am supposed to seriously explain to you that she did not take it, madam. It is scandalous what you are doing with Albanians and with the people who are there protesting with good intentions and feelings hurt by these kinds of nonsense that you keep repeating.

Gjoni: Is her interview nonsense?

Rama: If the lady in question had taken the island, a process would have had to happen, because in Albania, regardless of how your collective imagination works, islands and properties cannot be taken and given secretly. Everything is done in the open; nothing can happen secretly because it simply cannot. And as we speak, for over two years now, we do not have a conclusion regarding Sazan, because we are still negotiating. But you are not interested in the truth, you are interested in spectacle.

Gjoni: No, I care about the truth, since I am having this conversation with you and asking you. You say we are talking nonsense, nonsense does not harm Albanians, I am just asking, because Mrs. Trump has said it in an interview and the interview has gone viral.

Rama: What you are asking, I listened very carefully and you said something nonsense.

Gjoni: It is nonsense to mock the citizens’ problems, my question is not nonsense.

Rama: Who is mocking?

Gjoni: I am asking for an answer to what the lady says.

Rama: The lady did not say “we saw it and I took it”, you are saying it. I thank you very much for the opportunity. I thought it would be of interest for people to hear. You are not interested in people hearing, while I am interested in people hearing and now I will speak. You have massively abused your right. I am here in front of the people… I spoke two minutes ago and said that Sazan is a negotiation that has not yet reached a conclusion.

Gjoni: Prime Minister, those who follow us are interested in getting as much information as possible about what is happening, because we have this obligation…

Rama: You have many obligations to those who follow you that you are not fulfilling.

Gjoni: No, no Prime Minister, those who follow us are interested in getting from this what is happening.

Rama: You owe those who follow you an apology for what you said: “How did she take Sazan?”

Gjoni: No, I do not owe any apology, because I have never wronged the Albanian people with any decision, I have not worked a single day in the state. I have made no mistake toward the Albanian people. An apology should be asked by someone who has been in power for 14 years and tells them that I need a little more time so that you can have water and electricity 24 hours.

“KORÇA BOOM”