With DC journos obsessed with The Atlantic story, they missed the really big news on Friday that Serbia and Kosovo have begun the process of normalizing relations with each other and with Israel:
Another day everyone thought would be impossible! Congratulations to @predsednikrs Vucic of Serbia and PM @Avdullah Hoti of Kosovo on committing to #EconomicNormalization! This is a major step forward…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2020
…to bringing prosperity and peace to the Balkans and the world. I am proud to have assisted these leaders!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2020
For majority-Muslim Kosovo, this is a really big deal:
Kosovo, where roughly 9/10 people are Muslim, is recognized as an independent country by the United States and 114 other nations.
Israel and Kosovo, however, have never recognized each other.
this announcement is a significant step towards ending that. https://t.co/IoCpYmTDb9
— Siraj Hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) September 4, 2020
More via Fox News:
The deal normalizes relations between the two on everything from air, rail to opening of borders, officials said. It also includes Serbia moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and Kosovo recognizing Israel.
Kosovo had declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after NATO conducted an airstrike campaign against Serbia in a bid to end the persecution of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. But Serbia and its allies have not recognized that independence, keeping tensions high.
And also on Friday, Richard Grenell brought the emoji heat when he scolded the press for caring more about The Atlantic story and not enough about this historic agreement:
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“This is atrocious… You might be too young to understand what this issue is about. Maybe the older journalists should step up and say, ‘This is a big deal…'”:
.@RichardGrenell brings the ??:
"This is atrocious… You might be too young to understand what this issue is about. Maybe the older journalists should step up and say, 'This is a big deal…' I am astounded about what happens in DC & especially [in the White House Briefing.]" pic.twitter.com/GP3injzowY
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 4, 2020
BAM!
Put 'em in a body bag https://t.co/yl2E5FybmV
— Matt Vespa (@mVespa1) September 4, 2020
Vox’s Aaron Rupar called it a “disgrace that taxpayers are paying Richard Grenell to smugly insult reporters”:
"I don't know if you could find [Kosovo & Serbia] on a map. This is atrocious … maybe it's too complicated of an issue for you all" — it's a disgrace that taxpayers are paying Richard Grenell to smugly insult reporters pic.twitter.com/Z4NF6dGPCx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 4, 2020
Leave it to the Vox guy to get his facts wrong, which led to this perfect response:
I’m not paid. You get this advice for FREE!
You are welcome. https://t.co/NBZssPM6G0
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) September 4, 2020
And even dopier criticism came from this HuffPost journo who didn’t like the way he pronounced “Schengen”:
Ric Grenell comes to lecture the WH press corps about not knowing anything about Kosovo and Serbia and refers to Schengen, the 26-country open borders treaty in Europe, but pronounces it like Shenzhen, which is not all in Europe.
We will need more lecturing, obviously.
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) September 4, 2020
This earned high praise from Mark Levin:
Richard Grenell is one of the finest public servants I’ve ever witnessed https://t.co/TBMjrgt0Li
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) September 4, 2020
Ready for 2024?
?????? GRENELL 2024??????? https://t.co/rx9Q2gtv50
— Chris Barron ?? (@ChrisRBarron) September 4, 2020
You can watch the entire clip here:
Richard Grenell: "I'm just going to talk about Kosovo-Serbia. I don't know if you can find it on a map…you might be too young…maybe it's too complicated an issue for you all."@jeffmason1: "I don't think any of us came here for a lecture about our questioning." pic.twitter.com/8nXKyCNv3J
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 4, 2020
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