- A video from a reception at Buckingham Palace appears to show several world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and French President Emmanuel Macron poking fun at US President Donald Trump over his recent antics at the NATO summit.
- In the video, which was posted to Twitter with captions by the Canadian Broadcasting Company on Tuesday, Trudeau does not mention Trump by name but seems to reference the US president’s lengthy impromptu Tuesday morning press conference.
- “You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor,” Trudeau said.
- Trump held one-on-one meetings with both Macron and Trudeau on Tuesday and lauded the strong relationship he shares with both of them.
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A video from a reception at Buckingham Palace appears to show several world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and French President Emmanuel Macron poking fun at President Donald Trump in his absence.
The press pool video was first posted to Twitter with captions by the Canadian Broadcasting Company on Tuesday. In the video, Trudeau does not mention Trump by name but appears to make fun of Trump’s impromptu Tuesday morning press conference, in which he attacked Macron for saying last month that NATO was going brain-dead.
“He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top,” said Trudeau.
“You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor,” Trudeau continued.
Johnson and Macron appear to laugh at the reference, though their responses cannot be heard in the video.
The other participants in the conversation are Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
.@JustinTrudeau, @EmmanuelMacron, @BorisJohnson and other VIPs shared a few words at a Buckingham Palace reception Tuesday. No one mentions @realDonaldTrump by name, but they seem to be discussing his lengthy impromptu press conferences from earlier in the day. (Video: Host Pool) pic.twitter.com/dVgj48rpOP
— Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) December 3, 2019
Trump held a press conference during NATO's 70th-anniversary summit. During the Q&A session, Trump referred to Macron's past comments on NATO having a "brain death," saying his characterization of the alliance was "very, very nasty."
"You can't just go around making statements like that about NATO. It's very disrespectful," he said.
He also complained about the US's defense contribution to NATO, and went on a tirade on France's new digital-services tax, which the US is planning to retaliate against with new tariffs.
Still, Trump insisted he is on good terms with Macron despite recent tensions. Following his press conference, Trump held a bilateral meeting with Macron in which he said that he and the French president have a "fairly long relationship and a very good one."
"We do a lot of trade with France, and we have a minor dispute," Trump said. "I think we'll probably be able to work it out."
Macron added that he stands by his statement on NATO, while Trump called the US' contribution to NATO "not fair."
Trump also met with Trudeau on Tuesday afternoon following his meeting with Macron and lauded his "very good" relationship with the Canadian leader. Trudeau added that the relationship between the two countries has "never been stronger," though the two countries have recently sparred over the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has been signed but not yet ratified.
Meanwhile, Johnson is limiting his appearances with Trump this week amid concerns that Trump could jeopardize his chances of winning the coming UK general election, and he has not scheduled a one-on-one meeting with the US president during his time in the UK.