[VIDEO] World leaders caught on camera apparently mocking Donald Trump

[MenInG]

London: World leaders have been caught on camera appearing to mock US President Donald Trump's marathon and impromptu press conferences, which totalled two hours and stole the show before the NATO leaders meeting got under way in Watford, Hertfordshire.

[utube]dfq6tXMHqAQ[/utube]

Trump appeared to be the butt of a joke shared by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's PM Boris Johnson and Princess Anne at Tuesday night's reception for leaders at Number Ten.

Video of the trio and VIPs showed Trudeau discussing the shock he observed on the faces of Trump's team, as he launched into his third impromptu and wide-ranging media conference on Tuesday. Macron, who repeatedly clashed with Trump during one of those encounters over NATO's purposefulness under Trump's America-First approach and trade tariffs, can be seen laughing as Trudeau explains the cause of his tardiness.

A second video of the Queen greeting Trump and his wife, Melania, captures an awkward exchange between the monarch and her daughter.

Trump's three unplanned media conferences held after his bilateral meetings with NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Macron and Trudeau totalled two hours.

Johnson studiously avoided an on-camera meeting with Trump with the UK heading to the polls in eight days' time. Trump is an unpopular figure in Britain and was uncharacteristically restrained in commenting on UK politics, resisting entreaties to discuss London's latest terror attack and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

But the British Prime Minister confirmed that the pair met on Tuesday night.

"We had a very good meeting and we discussed the future of NATO, we discussed what's going on in Syria and various other matters," Johnson said, arriving at the meeting.

"Enjoyed my meeting with Prime Minister @BorisJohnson of the United Kingdom at @10DowningStreet last night," Trump tweeted.

"Talked about numerous subjects including @NATO and Trade," he posted, around the same time as his helicopter landed.

NATO Leaders are marking the Alliance's 70th-anniversary meeting at The Grove, a five-star hotel in Watford, Hertfordshire, just outside London.

While most leaders arrived in a string of motorcades that snaked through the fringes of London as the sun rose over frozen ponds and frosted grass, President Trump arrived in Marine 1.

Stoltenberg told journalists the meeting would focus on major security challenges including terrorism, arms control, the Alliance's relationship with Russia and for the first time - the rise of China.

"China is the second largest defence spender in the world next to the United States and recently displayed new modern capabilities including nuclear weapons," Stoltenberg said.

"We have to address the rise of China together and I look forward to the Allies doing that at this Leaders meeting for the first time."

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe...tly-mocking-donald-trump-20191204-p53gyy.html

 

[barah_admi]

No idea what Trudeau the racist is so smug about....and what's Macron/Boris got to say? They are both as bad if not worse.

Bunch of kettles calling the pot black.

 

[MenInG]

Nato's 70th anniversary summit has been overshadowed by rows, including a spat over a recording of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appearing to mock US President Donald Trump.

Footage showed Mr Trudeau, UK PM Boris Johnson and French leader Emmanuel Macron discussing Mr Trump's impromptu press conference before the summit.

Responding to the video, Mr Trump called Mr Trudeau "two-faced".

Spoiler

Amid the rows, Nato leaders issued a joint statement to try and show unity.

But President Trump has cancelled a planned press conference scheduled for after the summit near London, telling reporters: "We'll go directly back. I think we've done plenty of news conferences."

Mr Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron also had sharp exchanges over many topics on Tuesday.

What was in the video?
The brief video posted on Twitter by Canada's public broadcaster, CBC, showed Mr Trudeau chatting with a group of leaders, including Mr Johnson, Mr Macron, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and Queen Elizabeth's daughter Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace.

At the start of the footage, Mr Johnson asked Mr Macron: "Is that why you were late?"

Mr Trudeau then interjects: "He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top."

Mr Macron then appears to tell an anecdote, but his words are drowned out by background noise. An amused Mr Trudeau then replies: "Oh yeah, yeah, he announced... [inaudible]. You just watched his team's jaw drop to the floor."

None of them appeared to realise they were being recorded.

In response, Mr Trump said of Mr Trudeau: "He's two-faced... I find him to be a nice guy, but the truth is I called him out on the fact that he's not paying 2% [of national GDP to defence] and I guess he's not very happy about it.

"He's not paying 2% and he should be paying 2%. Canada - they have money. Look, I'm representing the US and he should be paying more than he's paying, he understands it... I can imagine he's not that happy but that's the way it is."

Asked about the video, Mr Johnson told reporters: "It's complete nonsense. I don't know where that's come from."

Mr Trudeau later told reporters that they hadn't been laughing about Mr Trump's press conference, but about the location of the next G7 summit - Camp David, the US presidential country retreat.

"I have a very good relationship with Trump," he added.

What did the leaders' joint statement say?
In the statement, Nato leaders said: "To stay secure we must look to the future together."

It then acknowledged the "challenges" posed by China and Russia, and pledged to take "stronger action" against terrorism.

Although the 29-member bloc's future is not in doubt, there are disagreements over Turkey's recent military action in northern Syria; the levels of military spending by members; and recent comments by Mr Macron that the alliance is "brain dead".

Despite the divisions, Mr Johnson - the host of the event - described Nato as a "giant shield of solidarity" that "protects nearly a billion people", saying at the start of the meeting at a luxury resort in Watford: "As long as we stand together, no-one can hope to defeat us."

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg cited increased spending commitments on defence by European allies and Canada, saying: "Nato is the most successful alliance in history because we've changed as the world has changed."

On Tuesday, he said those nations had added $130bn (£100bn) to defence budgets since 2016, and that this number would increase to $400bn by 2024. Mr Trump has frequently and forcefully criticised how much other allies spend on defence.

How sharp were the exchanges?
The first day of the special anniversary summit saw tensions bubble to the surface, with Mr Trump and Mr Macron sparring over Nato's role, Turkey, and Islamic State group (IS) fighters during a news conference.

Relations between the two leaders were already strained amid a dispute over taxes and trade, and comments from the French president last month that the US commitment to the alliance was fading.

Mr Trump, who once called Nato "obsolete", had earlier hit back by saying Mr Macron had been "very disrespectful" by describing Nato as "brain dead", calling them "nasty" comments. Mr Macron said he stood by his remarks.

President Trump and Mr Johnson held unscheduled bilateral talks and, ahead of Wednesday's talks, Mr Trump tweeted they both had "talked about numerous subjects including Nato and trade".

What's the background to the tensions?
Nato, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, started out in 1949 with just 12 countries as members but having now expanded to a bloc of 29, it is increasingly difficult for the alliance to project a united front.

Apart from defence spending - a longstanding issue of concern for the US, which militarily dominates the group - relations between Turkey and other member states is the other key issue looming over this summit.

Before departing for London, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would oppose a Nato defence plan for the Baltic region and Poland if the bloc did not support Turkey over its fight against Kurdish groups in Syria it considers terrorists.

But other leaders, including Mr Macron, made clear they opposed such a move, not least because Kurdish-led forces were key allies in the US-led multinational coalition against IS in Syria.

Mr Stoltenberg later told reporters that the alliance had been able to resolve the disagreement with Turkey, allowing Nato's plans to go ahead.

Turkey's relations with other Nato members have been strained since it started a military offensive in Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria in October. That followed the unilateral decision by President Trump to pull US troops out of the region.

"When I look at Turkey, they now are fighting against those who fought with us shoulder to shoulder against [IS]," the French president said while sitting alongside Mr Trump, who faced heavy criticism for the withdrawal.

Nato estimates for 2019 show there are now eight countries - in addition to the US - meeting the target agreed by all members to spend 2% or more of their gross domestic product (GDP, a measure of economic output) on defence.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50653597

 

[Nostalgic]

Since “quid pro quo” is now part of the popular lexicon courtesy Trump, I half expected him to refer to Trudeau as a “Janus” rather than “two-faced.”

 

[MenInG]

Not sure how these leaders will ever keep a straight face if they meet again!

 

[Bhaijaan]

They're all muppets to be honest. Every single one of them and they actually make Donald Trump seem a lot more stronger.