Gossip boys: Trudeau, BoJo & Macron caught scoffing at Trump on hot mic at NATO summit sidelines (VIDEO)
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has been filmed bad-mouthing US President Donald Trump in a chat with UK PM Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron at the NATO reception. All three seemed to be sharing laughs.
The video, filmed at a Buckingham Palace reception for NATO leaders on Tuesday, has been making the rounds online. The clip shows Trudeau complaining about what is presumably Trump’s signature ways with the media and his uncanny ability to take his own staffers aback with off-the-cuff remarks.
“He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top,” Trudeau was caught saying on a hot mic, apparently responding to Johnson about a delay in his schedule.
A loosened-up Canadian PM, sipping from a beer glass during the exchange, could barely contain his emotions, gesticulating vividly as he went on to say: “You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor!”
While the name Trump did not even get a passing mention in the video, Trudeau was most likely referring to the joint press conference he held with the US leader earlier that day, which saw Trump lashing out at Democrats while taking on the unravelling impeachment saga at home.
Trudeau did not seem to be too impressed by Trump’s rant.
PM @JustinTrudeau while @realDonaldTrump is asked about the impeachment hearings/story #cdnpolipic.twitter.com/UFpTz3Xt6t
— Mike Le Couteur (@mikelecouteur) December 3, 2019
It’s unclear what Trudeau was referring to exactly when he was talking about the startled reaction of Trump’s staffers.
The two had a kind of back-and-forth during the press conference, with Trump confronting his Canadian counterpart about Ottawa’s defense spending.
Also on rt.com ‘One of the greatest non-answers I’ve ever heard’: Trump roasts Macron after joking he's a 'great politician'Since his election, Trump has ramped up pressure on NATO member-states, demanding they increase their defense budgets to at least two percent of GDP.
When asked by Trump to provide a figure on what Canada spends on defense, Trudeau pushed back, noting that Ottawa “has been there for every NATO deployment,” but had to enlist the help of a staffer to come up with the exact number, which he then said was 1.4 percent of GDP.
"The president knows as well that Canada has been there for every NATO deployment" -- Trudeau pushes back as Trump castigates him for Canada not spending more on its military pic.twitter.com/cM9hgTLJuH
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 3, 2019
However, Trudeau might have unknowingly committed to a defense spending increase, as Canada’s actual defense spending stands at 1.27 percent.
Trudeau said Canada spends 1.4% of our GDP on defence spending. Really? Our 2019 figure was 1.27%. Did Trump just force Trudeau to up our defence budget by $2.15 billion? pic.twitter.com/n3NTeShtEc
— Candice Malcolm (@CandiceMalcolm) December 3, 2019
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