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Trump calls Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "double-sided"

2019-12-04

US President Donald Trump has called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "double-sided" over a video in which the Canadian leader appears to be mocking him on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO leaders in Britain.

Trudeau footage showed UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron discussing a forthcoming press conference for Trump.

The 70th NATO summit, which took place near London, saw leaders agree on a unified statement, but it also saw many paradoxes.

Trump canceled a press conference scheduled after the summit, and told reporters: "We will return directly to the meeting, I think we have done enough press conferences."

 

What did the video show?

The short video posted on Twitter by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) showed Trudeau talking to a group of leaders, including the British Prime Minister, the French President, the Dutch Prime Minister and Princess Anne's daughter, Queen Elizabeth, at Buckingham Palace.

 

At first, Johnson appears, asking Macron, "Is that why you're late?"

Trudeau then intervenes to say, commenting on how long it takes Trump at his press conferences, "It's delayed because it takes 40 minutes to hold his press conference."

The video also showed Trudeau describing the surprise of the members of the US president's team during the press conference.

None of the leaders seemed to realize that he was being filmed.

In response, Trump said, calling Trudeau "double-sided ... I find him a nice person, but in fact I confronted him with the fact that he doesn't spend 2 percent of GDP on defense and I think he's resentful for that reason."

Asked about the video, the British prime minister replied: "It's nonsense. I don't know where that story came from."

Trudeau later said they did not make fun of Trump's press conference, but rather were puzzling over the location of the G7 summit.

"I have a very good relationship with Trump."

What did the summit statement say?

"In order to remain safe, we must look to the future together," NATO leaders said in the statement.

He also acknowledged the challenges posed by China and Russia, vowing to take "stronger action" against terrorism.

Among the most controversial issues that have emerged among the leaders of the 29 member states are the recent Turkish military action in northern Syria, the levels of military spending of its members, and the recent comments by Macron on NATO as "brain dead."

But despite the disagreements, Johnson described NATO as a "huge shield of solidarity that protects nearly a billion people."