Trump Slams “Two-Faced” Trudeau After Hot-Mic Video Slip

Update 2: After being accused of being “two-faced” by President Trump, Canadian PM Trudeau has come up with an excuse for his

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau downplayed comments he made about president Donald Trump that were caught on camera on Tuesday.

“Last night I made a reference to the fact that there was an unscheduled press conference,” Trudeau said Wednesday during a press conference in London. 

“It was certainly notable and I’ve had a number of good conversations with the president over the course of this day and yesterday,” he added.

Asked about his comment about Trump aides’ jaws dropping, he said: “We were all surprised and I think pleased to learn that the next G-7 will be at Camp David, I think that was an unscheduled announcement.”

So Trudeau basically explaining it away as just another miscommunication.

The implication of Trudeau’s “jaws drop to the floor” explanation is that WH staff either didn’t know Trump had decided the G7 would be at Camp David, or just didn’t know he would announce it Tuesday. https://t.co/IUlZLv0gHz

— Ben Pershing (@benpershing) December 4, 2019

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Update: President Trump isn’t one to let criticism go unanswered, and in keeping with tradition, the president called Trudeau “two-faced” Wednesday during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in response to the hot mic video where Trudeau was seen bad-mouthing Trump to Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron.

“He’s two-faced,” Trump told reporters. “I find him to be a very nice guy, but the truth is I called him out on the fact that he’s not paying 2% and I guess he’s not happy about it.”

Trudeau was likely blowing off steam after Trump questioned the Canadian prime minister about how much his country spends on defense during a bilateral press event on Tuesday.

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In an edited clip released by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson were all caught on a hot mic appearing to ridicule President Trump after a day of rambling press conferences that took world leaders off guard.

At the beginning of the clip, Johnson can be heard inquiring about why Macron was late to a meeting earlier that day, when Trudeau butts in, exclaiming that Macron had to factor in a 40-minute diversion apparently caused by Trump.

If you ever wondered what world leaders chat about in private, well here at NATO they’re gossiping about #Trump.

Leaked Video shows Canada’s Trudeau (with a 🍺), France’s Macron, UK’s Johnson making fun of Trump’s long pressers and his staff reactions: pic.twitter.com/5E0KISv1jo

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) December 4, 2019

The world leaders were joined by Princess Anne, the Queen’s daughter, who naturally was invited to the Buckingham Palace reception where the footage was taken. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also appears to be in the scrum. At one point, Rutte can be heard laughing while saying “fake news media”.

Though Trump’s name isn’t heard spoken, the subject of their gossipy little pow-wow is pretty clear. At one point, Trudeau can be heard telling his pals about how a certain leader’s team members’ jaws dropped when he launched into a rambling tangent during a press conference.

A loosened up Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, seen sipping from a glass of beer, could barely contain himself, gesturing wildly and shouting “You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor!”

It’s likely that Trudeau is referring to his joint press conference with President Trump, where the president veered wildly off-topic and answered questions about the burgeoning impeachment inquiry while lashing out at his democratic rivals.

PM @JustinTrudeau while @realDonaldTrump is asked about the impeachment hearings/story #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/UFpTz3Xt6t

— Mike Le Couteur (@mikelecouteur) December 3, 2019

However, Trump participated in several press conferences yesterday, not only with Nato General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg, but also with Boris Johnson, Trudeau, and a memorably tense news conference with Macron.

Regardless, CNN was all over the hot mic clip, pushing it as evidence that the US hasn’t regained its status in the world.

And it of course belies Trump’s frequent claim that he has made the US respected again https://t.co/TTuZoGMhUP

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 4, 2019

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, leaders wrapped up the two-day summit with a draft communique that made on thing clear: The rest of Nato wants to keep Trump happy, and is much more concerned about what Trump wants than what the president of France wants right now, BBG reports.

The draft showed that leaders made “burden sharing” – Trump’s top priority re: Nato – the centerpiece of the communique.