Awkward: Trump scorns 'two-faced Trudeau' and 'storms out' of NATO summit

Trump blasted Canadian PM Justin Trudeau after he was found gossiping about the US President.

2 min read

04 December, 2019

Trump is angry at Trudeau [Getty]

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "two-faced" after he was overheard appearing to gossip about Trump.

He claimed Trudeau's gossiping came after he was upset that Trump broached the fact that Canada falls short of the NATO target of spending two percent of its GDP on defence.

"He's two-faced and honestly with Trudeau you know, he's a nice guy. I find him to be a very nice guy. But, you know, the truth is that I called him out on the fact that he's not paying 2 percent. And I guess he's not very happy about it. I mean, you were there, a couple of you were there," he said.

"And he's not paying two percent and he should be paying two percent. It's Canada. They have money and they should be paying two percent. So I called him out on that and I'm sure he wasn't happy about it. But that's the way it is," he continued.

He then went on to gloat that the US pays more than Canada does to NATO's defence budget.

"Look, I'm representing the US and he should be paying more than he's paying and he understands that. So I can imagine. I can imagine he's not that happy, but that's the way it is," he said.

Read more: France summons Turkish ambassador over Erdogan's 'brain dead' Macron jibe

It came after footage emerged from a reception in London at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night.

Trudeau was seen standing 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.

Trudeau could be heard making what appeared to be a reference to Trump's long and unscheduled question-and-answer sessions with journalists.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

Trump described the meeting with Erdogan as "very good" and praised Turkey's efforts at the border with Syria and the "safe zone".

The meeting came as European leaders, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, were pushing the alliance to get tougher on Turkey after its October invasion of Syria and its purchase of Russian surface-to-air missiles.

Trump has resisted some of those efforts to pressure Erdogan - a point of tension exposed in a feisty meeting Tuesday with the French leader.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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