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Dutch grill new US ambassador
By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The new US ambassador to the Netherlands clashed Wednesday with Dutch reporters on his first official day in the job over controversial comments he made in 2015 in which he said that the ‘‘Islamic movement’’ was creating chaos in Europe and suggested that extremists were burning politicians and cars in the Netherlands.

At a press conference shortly after presenting his credentials to Dutch King Willem-Alexander at a palace in The Hague, Pete Hoekstra was repeatedly asked about the 2015 comments, which made headlines last year when he described his own words to a Dutch reporter as fake news. Hoekstra later denied using the phrase fake news.

In a statement last year, Hoekstra said: ‘‘I made certain remarks in 2015 and regret the exchange during the Nieuwsuur interview.’’

Hoekstra said Wednesday that he didn’t want to revisit the issue — but that did not stop Dutch reporters from pressing for a clarification. One reporter asked if the ambassador could name a politician who had been set on fire.

Hoekstra, a former Republican congressman from Michigan, was born in the northern Dutch city of Groningen before his family emigrated to the United States. Hoekstra previously served as chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was the ranking Republican on the Committee until 2011.

associated press