Trump calls Trudeau 'two-faced' following video of NATO leaders appearing to gossip about him
President Donald Trump called Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "two-faced" on Wednesday after a viral video circulated on social media showing several top NATO leaders appearing to chuckle about Trump.
Taking questions after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump also said that he called out Trudeau because Canada is not spending 2% of its GDP on defense spending, as required by NATO guidelines. "I guess he's not very happy about it," Trump said.
The video, first shared by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, captures snippets of a conversation between French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Britain’s Princess Anne during a reception Tuesday night at Buckingham Palace that was hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.
More: Tensions and disputes roil NATO alliance meetings in London
.@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
"Is that why you were late?" an amused Johnson asks Macron at the opening of the video.
"He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top," Trudeau answers.
"You just watched his team's jaw drop to the floor," Trudeau says at another point.
The leaders do not mention Trump by name in the conversation, much of which can't be understood because the video was shot across a crowded room. But Trudeau seemed to be referencing a lengthy and unscheduled question-and-answer session Trump had with reporters earlier Tuesday.
Johnson later denied knowing anything about the video.
“I don’t know what’s being referred to there,” he said.
The video in the initial CBC tweet had more than 6 million views as of 7:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday.
The NATO leaders are gathered in London for the 70th anniversary of the alliance.
Much of the focus Tuesday, the first day of the summit, was on tensions between Macron, who recently said NATO is experiencing "brain death," and Trump who called Macron's remarks "very nasty" and "very dangerous."
More: Trump in Britain for NATO meetings. Macron talks may be more important
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump apparently mocked by NATO's Trudeau, Macron, Johnson in video
