NATO summit
Trump calls Trudeau 'two-faced' over video
Publish | 05 Dec 2019, 12:51
US President Donald Trump has called Justin Trudeau "two-faced" over a video in which the Canadian leader appears to mock him at a meeting of NATO leaders, reports BBC.
Footage showed Trudeau, UK PM Boris Johnson and French leader Emmanuel Macron discussing an impromptu press conference held by Trump.
NATO leaders agreed a statement of unity but the 70th anniversary meeting held near London also saw several rows.
Trump cancelled a press conference planned for after the summit.
He told reporters: "We'll go directly back. I think we've done plenty of news conferences."
What was in the video?
The brief video posted on Twitter by Canada's public broadcaster, CBC, showed Trudeau chatting with a group of leaders, including Johnson, Macron, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and Queen Elizabeth's daughter Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace.
At the start of the footage, Johnson asked Macron: "Is that why you were late?"
Trudeau then interjects: "He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top."
Macron then appears to tell an anecdote, but his words are drowned out by background noise. An amused Trudeau then replies: "Oh yeah, yeah, he announced... [inaudible]. You just watched his team's jaw drop to the floor."
None of them appeared to realise they were being recorded.
In response, Trump said of Trudeau: "He's two-faced... I find him to be a nice guy, but the truth is I called him out on the fact that he's not paying 2% [of national GDP towards defence] and I guess he's not very happy about it.
Source: Daily-Sun