‘Bizarre moment’ Trump calls over a TV reporter to praise her nice smile
DONALD Trump raised eyebrows yesterday by flirting with a journalist while on the phone to another world leader.
The US President, dogged by allegations of sleazy behaviour during his election campaign, faced a backlash after telling reporter Caitriona Perry that she had “a nice smile”.
One critic branded the incident “completely inappropriate”.
The blonde caught his eye during a call from the Oval Office of the White House to Ireland’s new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
President Trump, 71, was congratulating Mr Varadkar on becoming his country’s youngest-ever prime minister at just 38 and had invited reporters in to watch.
But during the conversation he suddenly noticed Ms Perry, the Washington correspondent for Irish broadcaster RTE, and told the Taoiseach: “We have all this beautiful Irish press here.”
He beckoned 37-year-old Ms Perry over to his desk, asking her where she was from and saying she had a “nice smile on her face”.
Puzzlingly he then told Mr Varadkar, who is openly gay: “I bet she treats you well.”
As others in the room laughed, Ms Perry turned away with a look of surprise and a nervous smile.
She later posted a video of the incident on Twitter, calling it a “bizarre moment”. But it immediately sparked outrage from viewers.
One, Cristin Harber, was shocked the President has “no fear” of flirting while “surrounded by cameras”.
Another, using the name Tigress, wrote: “Remarks like that in workplace are completely inappropriate. There’s a time and place.”
The episode came as Mr Trump was humiliatingly asked by US mag-
azine Time to take down a mockedup front cover celebrating his success as host of The Apprentice.
The billionaire had installed the fake edition dated March 1, 2009, in his Florida estate and at least 17 of his golf courses, including Turnberry, in Ayrshire. The cover read: “Donald Trump: The ‘Apprentice’ is a television smash!” Another headline on the bogus page ran: “Trump is hitting on all fronts...even TV!”
In a statement Time said there was no edition on March 1 and that the closest, on March 2, had featured British actress Kate Winslet.
Kerri Chyka, a spokeswoman for Time Inc, said: “I can confirm that this is not a real cover.”
Ironically Mr Trump has appeared on the magazine’s front cover on several occasions, including before he began his run for the presidency.
He has also featured on the cover of GQ, Fortune and even Playboy.
Meanwhile, White House officials said yesterday he had accepted an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to attend Bastille Day ceremonies in Paris on July 14, including a military parade marking the 100th anniversary of America’s entry into the First World War.
On Bastille Day last year at least 84 people were killed when a lorry was rammed into crowds in Nice.
There is still mystery over whether Mr Trump will make a state visit to the UK. No mention of one was made in the Queen’s Speech last week.