Trump calls Trudeau 'two-faced' after video surfaces of world leaders joking about him

Source: Politico | December 4, 2019 | Quint Forgey

Canada’s prime minister and other world leaders were caught on a hot mic at the NATO gathering dishing on the American president.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “two-faced” after video surfaced of various foreign leaders appearing to joke about their American counterpart during a private exchange at the NATO summit in London.

Sitting alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a bilateral meeting in Watford, England, Trump responded to a reporter’s question regarding Trudeau’s comments in the roughly half-minute clip, which has gone viral on social media.

“Well, he’s two-faced,” the president said, adding that while Trudeau is “a nice guy,” he was likely upset by Trump’s demands for Canada to increase its defense spending contribution as part of the western military alliance.

“I called him out on that, and I’m sure he wasn’t happy about it, but that’s the way it is,” Trump said. “Look, I’m representing the U.S., and he should be paying more than he’s paying, and he understands that. So I can imagine he’s not that happy, but that’s the way it is.”

The president’s remarks — as well as a subsequent statement that he would cancel a planned news conference — came after the release of footage showing Trudeau, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apparently joking about Trump during a reception at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening.

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At another moment in the conversation, Trudeau seemed to be recounting his meeting with Trump before members of the media earlier in the day: “I just watched, I watched his team’s jaws just drop to the floor.”

The Canadian prime minister confirmed during a news conference Wednesday that Trump was the subject of the leaders’ banter.

“Last night, I made a reference to the fact that there was an unscheduled press conference before my meeting with President Trump, and I was happy to take part of it, but it was certainly notable,” he said. “I’ve had a number of good conversations with the president over the course of this day and yesterday.”

Trudeau also revealed that when he described the surprised reaction of White House aides, he was referring to Trump’s impromptu announcement that next year’s G-7 summit would take place at Camp David.

“Every different leader has teams who every now and then have their jaws drop at unscheduled surprises, like that video itself, for example,” Trudeau said, brushing off concerns that his small-talk may have endangered the prospect of a renegotiated NAFTA agreement or the broader U.S.-Canada relationship.

“The relationship between Canada and the Untied States is extremely strong, and I have a very good relationship with President Trump and his team,” he said.

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During a trio of sessions Tuesday with Macron, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Trudeau, Trump and his fellow leaders spoke to the assembled press corps for a total of approximately two hours, with the American president dominating most of the discussion.

But minutes after publicly addressing the video Wednesday, Trump suggested he would “probably go directly back to Washington” following the conclusion of the day’s meetings, and he later confirmed on Twitter that he would not participate in a news conference scheduled for later in the afternoon.

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  • Discussion
  • Consistent December 4, 2019 at 12:11 pm #33915

    Consistent December 4, 2019 at 12:15 pm #33917

    Consistent December 4, 2019 at 12:17 pm #33918

    Consistent December 4, 2019 at 12:22 pm #33920

    Consistent December 4, 2019 at 12:24 pm #33921

    Consistent December 4, 2019 at 12:44 pm #33923

    Consistent December 4, 2019 at 11:27 pm #33928

    EVERYDAY December 5, 2019 at 2:37 am #33932

    World leaders loved Obama because his political views were similar to theirs, but they would have shown respect to presidents with contrary views if they were normal human beings. But Trump isn’t normal.

    I suspect many world leaders know there is something wrong with Trump. And they worry that his stupidity will bring them down too. They see him as stupid and weak and they appreciate that those qualities have the potential for dangerous consequences for the entire world

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