Former Prime Minister Bruce GoldingNEW 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. 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. But reacting to the former prime minister’s assessment of the bilateral relations, Stafford Grant, founder and president of the US-based Jamaica Ex-Service Men and Women Foundation, said after the speech:“Golding didn’t just give a speech, he gave Jamaica a masterclass in geopolitical survival. Holding a gun at your head and insisting that you must be reasonable and do things their way is not friendship,” Golding suggested.