Trump slams ‘two-faced’ Trudeau after leaders mock him
Donald Trump left a Britishhosted Nato summit yesterday after world leaders were caught on camera mocking him at Buckingham Palace.
The US president called Justin Trudeau ‘‘two-faced’’ and cancelled an end of summit press conference after the Canadian prime minister poked fun at him in a conversation with Boris Johnson and the Princess Royal.
The row overshadowed what was meant to be a 70th anniversary celebration of Nato when the leaders of the 29 member states gathered at a hotel near Watford.
It came after a video emerged online of Trudeau joking about an impromptu 40-minute press conference held by Trump at the start of a meeting on Wednesday with UN Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. In the footage, filmed by Buckingham Palace pool cameraman Peter Wilkinson, Johnson is seen asking French President
Emmanuel Macron: ‘‘Is that why you were late?’’
Trudeau, addressing Johnson, the Princess, Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, and Macron, said: ‘‘He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top ... . You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor.’’ .
The US president was quick to retaliate. Asked about Trudeau’s comments, Trump told reporters: ‘‘Well, he’s two-faced.’’
Speaking during a short press meeting with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump added: ‘‘With Trudeau, he is a nice guy, I find him to be a very nice guy, but the fact is I called him out on the fact that he is not paying 2 per cent [of GDP on defence] and I guess he is not very happy about it.’’
Trump then announced he was cancelling his official press conference and that he would go ‘‘directly back’’ to Washington after his meetings.
– Telegraph Group