A cluster of world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron, was caught on tape seemingly making fun of President Donald Trump.
The video was snagged by political scientist Ian Bremmer:
This happens at every NATO summit with Trump. Every G7. Every G20. The US President is mocked by US allies behind his back. pic.twitter.com/FWncEM7jVs— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) December 4, 2019
(Note: Bremmer doesn't mention it, but it looks like Princess Anne is standing to the right of Trudeau.)
In the 30 second video, Johnson turns to Macron and asks “is that why you were late?”
Trudeau interjects: “He was late because he takes a 40 minute press conference off the top. Oh yeah, yeah, he announced…”
Macron cuts in, but his words are inaudible, as his back is to the camera.
From a different angle and possibly different point in the conversation, Trudeau can be seen gesturing with his hand as he said “you just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor.”
Trump announced soon after the video circulated that he is leaving the gathering, the NATO summit in London, early. He even cancelled a press conference scheduled for this afternoon.
The lengthy presser the world leaders in the video seem to be referring to was a tense Tuesday bilateral meeting between Trump and Macron.
The animosity stemmed from Trump’s recent about-face on NATO, now heaping praise upon the alliance as Democrats intensify impeachment proceedings back home. Macron has been freehanded with his criticism of NATO, stemming from his frustration with Turkey’s nearly-unilateral invasion of Syria, which he believes undermined the fight against ISIS.
A day after the video surfaced, Trump lashed out at Trudeau, calling him “two-faced” during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (This is the article in its entirety.)
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