U.S. President Donald Trump said he had called out Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for failing to meet the target of spending 2% of national
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had called out Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for failing to meet the target of spending 2% of national output on defense adding he was two-faced for comments he appeared to have made about him.
“He’s two faced,” Trump said when asked about remarks Trudeau seemed to make about the U.S. president’s performance at a news conference at a NATO summit in Britain.
“I find him to be a very nice guy but you know the truth is that I called him out the fact that he’s not paying 2% and I can see he’s not very happy about it,” Trump added. “He’s not paying 2% and he should be paying 2%. Canada — they have money.”
In footage recorded during a reception in London at Buckingham Palace Tuesday evening, Trudeau was seen standing in a huddle with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Britain’s Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.
After Johnson asked Macron, “is that why you were late?” Trudeau could be heard saying “he was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top.” That appeared to be a reference to Trump’s long and unscheduled question-and-answer session with journalists earlier Tuesday.
Trudeau also said: “You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor.”
Trump wasn’t mentioned by name during the exchange.
Footage of the palace reception was recorded by a pool camera. The clip was posted online by Canadian broadcaster CBC and has been viewed more than 5 million times.
Canadian officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Trudeau spoke briefly to Trump as NATO leaders gathered for a summit Wednesday in Watford, outside London, and the two men shook hands.
Leaders of the 29 NATO states are marking the 70th anniversary of the military alliance — and trying to patch up differences over defense spending, the alliance’s strategic direction and member nation Turkey’s military action in northern Syria.