In what’s extremely bad etiquette, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and three of his NATO friends — Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, and Dutch PM Mark Rutte — were caught on tape seemingly gossiping about American President Donald Trump. The four men were filmed by a Canadian film crew at a reception at Buckingham Palace.
As Sky News reports, the ongoing NATO summit in London has “been notable for a few frosty meetings between the prime ministers and presidents who have gathered.” One of the most controversial clashes was between Trump and Macron. During the exchange, Trump told Macron that he was free to take back some “nice ISIS fighters,” while Macron nagged about America’s fading interest in NATO.
In other words, it comes as no surprise that Macron and Trudeau aren’t fond of Trump. What is somewhat disconcerting is that they were joined by two other European prime ministers who a) made fun of the American President and b) did so at a NATO summit of all places.
At the NATO reception at Buckingham Palace, Macron and Trudeau appear to be making fun of the American president. They were joking about a “40-minute press conference” that caused Macron to be late. A little later, the Canadian prime minister can be heard telling his fellow leaders: “You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor,” in what seems to be yet another reference to Trump.
It’s disgusting. To a very large degree, the U.S. is NATO. Countries like Britain, France, and the Netherlands have ignored their obligation to spend two percent of their GDP on defense for decades. As a result, American troops (and military tech) are stationed in Europe in an attempt to protect it from Russia and bad actors in the Middle East. America is spending billions on this. And how do European and Canadian leaders repay her? That’s right, by insulting her democratically elected leader.
Well done, Trudeau, Macron, Johnson, and Rutte. Let’s hope that Trump doesn’t hold grudges. If he does, both Europe and Canada could be in for a lot of (defense) trouble.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member