NEW YORK, USA — Former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding has earned the backing of many within the Diaspora community here for what is being described as his “bold, factual and truthful position” on the souring relationship between Jamaica and America, two staunch allies. Speaking in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last week, Golding expressed hopes that “the United States will soften the tone of its relationship with Jamaica and rekindle the strong, decades-old bond between both nations which Jamaicans cherish.

Saying that current demands by Washington are “at odds with the very essence of true friendship”, he pointed to the many challenges facing the island as established rules are being discarded and “new rules are being handed down, not after discussions and negotiations, but unilaterally by social media postings at 2:30 in the morning when most of us are asleep”.

The former Jamaican leader, who stepped away in 2011 and handed over the reins to now Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, was addressing the annual Team Jamaica Bickle Independence Gala on Emancipation Day, August 1, 2026.