Every President Except Biden Invites Me To The White House

In fact, he often thinks about his early years. “These were critical times in my life,” he told The Post. “I came from a situation where I was part of a persecuted minority that had no civil rights and was forced to live in isolation in a country where no matter where you had to start, you had the vision of a better future and were free to express yourself.” “I wrote an essay when I first came here,” he continued. “I wrote that, of course, I missed the family and friends I had to leave behind, but when I thought that I could walk the streets of America with my head held high and without fear and with the ability to have my own future, I was very happy to… join such a society”. Kissinger (left) with his first wife Ann Fleischer and friend K Oppenheim. Kissinger served in the US Army from 1943 to 1946, an experience the immigrant said, “made me feel American.” New York Post/Shutterstock During our hour-long interview, Kissinger’s legendary willingness to speak bluntly on any subject is clear in every sentence. It’s a quality that has earned him both admiration and infamy in the turbulent world of politics. At 99, he hasn’t lost his step mentally, not even remotely. He even has a new book out this month, Leadership: Six Studies in Global Strategy, which profiles six leaders who helped shape the turbulent post-World War II era. His voice is still serious and bears thick traces of his German childhood, and his charm and humor are ever present. Besides living in America, Kissinger said his other great honor is being invited by every sitting president of the United States since Richard Nixon to meet at the White House “for talks and discussions of foreign policy” — including Barack Obama and Donald J. Trump. Henry Kissinger at his home in Kent, Conn. Biden, but believes that ending the war in Ukraine is a foreign policy imperative. Stephen Yang for the NY Post Neither Obama nor Trump entered the presidency with much experience in geopolitical affairs, so both had to learn the process while in office, each bringing their own personal characteristics to the table when facing a crisis, Kissinger said. Of Obama, Kissinger said: “He brought to international affairs a concern for the developing world and a high degree of personal intelligence, which were very effective traits.” Of Obama’s successor, he said: “President Trump carried a quality of great determination and a very personal vitality. It was a unique phenomenon in American foreign policy.” Kissinger remained close to Richard Nixon after his resignation, saying, “When one of us took a trip abroad, we would meet and analyze what we had learned and compare it with the other’s views.” AP But his 50-year streak of presidential meetings could still be broken. So far, Joe Biden has not sent him an invitation. “I knew Biden when he was a senator, but I haven’t had any contact with him since he was president,” Kissinger said. “I don’t think a president is required to ask me for my advice,” he added. But if Biden ever did, Kissinger would like the president to find “a common definition of our risks and our goals … Ending the Ukrainian war should be a major task.” Although Pr. Obama came to the White House with very little foreign policy experience, “bringing to international affairs a concern for the developing world,” Kissinger said. “President Trump conveyed a quality of great determination and a very personal vitality,” Kissinger said. “It was a unique phenomenon.” REUTERS “I knew Biden when he was a senator, but I haven’t had any contact with him since he was president,” Kissinger noted. AP In May, Kissinger ruffled international feathers at the World Economic Forum in Davos when he argued that Ukraine should cede territory to make peace with Russia. Garry Kasparov, the Russian chess grandmaster and political activist, blasted Kissinger’s comments on Twitter, saying that “Kissinger’s position is not just immoral – if you care about such things – it has been proven wrong time and time again.” Although Kissinger said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine violated basic principles of the international order, he also worries that an embarrassing defeat for Vladimir Putin would worsen Europe’s long-term stability. Kissinger — who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contribution to ending the Vietnam War — stands with senior Vietnamese politician Le Duc Tho (right). Tho was also awarded the Kissinger Nobel, but refused to accept it. Bettmann Archive He said he supports Biden in his efforts to prove that Russian aggression will ultimately fail. “I would say, however, that we need to think about what the world will look like after the war. [We should] not to be in a position where conflict becomes its own end’. Kissinger is also critical of Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan last August. The unilateral decision to hastily withdraw after decades of occupation of the country – which led to the deaths of 13 US soldiers – made no sense because there was no “significant pressure at the time” and “undermined America’s ability to resist aggression around the world”. Nixon and Kissinger chat at a reception for Chinese Vice President Deng Xiaoping during his visit in 1979. The two men are credited with helping to open China to the West. Getty Images Kissinger has advised presidents since he was hired as a part-time adviser to John F. Kennedy’s National Security Council, where his cultural knowledge of Germany and language skills were valued as a key asset in the early days of the Cold War. As he nears his 100th birthday, Kissinger still has a lot to say about the state of the world. For his book, he chose his six subjects with whom he had many personal interactions in his role as national security adviser, including Charles de Gaulle, Richard Nixon and Maggie Thatcher. Of his longevity, Kissinger jokes, “I chose my parents very well.” Louis and Paula Kissinger (pictured with their son) both lived well into their nineties. Getty Images Even after Nixon resigned from office in disgrace, Kissinger said he and the former president remained very close. “We remained friends and saw each other often. When one of us went on a trip abroad, we would meet and analyze what we had learned and compare it with each other’s views,” he said. For a man of such lofty stature, who won a Nobel Prize for his contribution to the end of the Vietnam War, Kissinger’s beginnings were beyond humble. Born in Bavaria to a Jewish home — the son of a housewife and a teacher — Kissinger and his family immigrated to the United States in September 1938. By 1943 he was serving in the US Army. During his military service, he became a US citizen. An 11-year-old Henry is shown with his arm around his brother Walter, then 10. Bettmann Archive “I came here as a refugee and worked from the age of 16 until I was drafted,” he said. “When I came back, I went to university and studied mainly history and philanthropy because I wanted to understand what contribution I should make, or should make, to overcome the divisions that characterized the world I grew up in.” Kissinger had the good fortune to outperform almost everyone he once advised. He calls his longevity “amazing” and credits two people: “I chose my parents very well,” he said with a laugh. His mother Paula – who never left the same Washington Heights apartment she moved into when she first arrived in America – has died aged 97. Louis’ father was 95 years old at the time of his death. His younger brother Walter, who died last year, lived to be 96 years old. Kissinger has been married to his second wife Nancy since 1974. The couple, pictured in 1981, were regulars on the international social scene. Getty Images Kissinger and his second wife — Nancy Maginnes — have been married since 1974. He has two children with his first wife and five grandchildren. His longevity is certainly not due to him living a stress-free life, he added. “I was very stressed, but I think when you live in stressful situations, it also gives you the opportunity to try to achieve something positive. And therefore, boredom has never been a part of my work. And I consider myself lucky to have been able to live the different lives I’ve lived and meet the people I’ve lived and live in this remarkable country.” As he nears his 100th birthday, Kissinger still has a lot to say about the state of the world. Even so, Kissinger said he was deeply concerned about the state of the United States as well as the rest of the Western world. “In many of the democracies, the leaders are so obsessed and consumed with domestic politics that they must devote their efforts to managing day-to-day events without being able to shape them in the direction of a more peaceful and better world. ” he said. “I came from a situation where I was part of a persecuted minority that had no civil rights.” Kissinger grew up Jewish in wartime Germany “When I was in power, there were only three major news channels on television. Today, there is an unlimited number on the internet. Leaders must spend much of their efforts mechanically coping with the various means of communication that now exist, and which also tend to…