Trump Cancels NATO Presser in Wake of Mocking Video

Trump calls Trudeau 'two-faced'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 4, 2019 8:07 AM CST
Updated Dec 4, 2019 9:05 AM CST

The first day of the NATO summit was contentious. The second is no different, thanks to video Tuesday night that appears to show a group of world leaders mocking President Trump, though he was never mentioned by name. The candid moment at the summit reception at Buckingham Palace was caught on video shared by the CBC, now viewed 9 million times. It begins with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking French President Emmanuel Macron, who'd challenged Trump earlier in the day, "Is that why you were late?" Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chimes in with, "He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top." The Washington Post provides some possible context, having reported, "Over the course of three one-on-one meetings with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Macron, and Trudeau, Trump turned what were expected to be brief photo opportunities into his own personal daytime cable show," which lasted two hours. More:

  • "You just watched his team's jaws drop to the floor," Trudeau is also heard saying.
  • Macron also speaks "animatedly" to the group—which includes Princess Anne and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who at one point laughs at the phrase "fake news media"—though Macron has his back to the camera and his words weren't captured, per the Guardian.

  • Trudeau refused questions at the summit early Wednesday before exchanging a handshake with Trump. Trump, meanwhile, called Trudeau "two-faced" after reports of the video surfaced, notes the New York Times.
  • Trump later tweeted that he wouldn't be holding a press conference as planned Wednesday, the final day of the summit: "When today's meetings are over, I will be heading back to Washington. We won’t be doing a press conference at the close of NATO because we did so many over the past two days. Safe travels to all!" Several media outlets are calling the cancellation "abrupt."
  • The Guardian reports Johnson was asked Wednesday about the video, with this question posed to him: "Do you not take President Trump seriously?" His reply: "No. That’s complete nonsense. I don’t know where that’s come from."
  • Princess Anne is enjoying a moment for a similar shun, however. In another video from the reception, she simply shrugs as Queen Elizabeth II gestures for her to greet Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
(More President Trump stories.)

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