Queen Máxima of the Netherlands has rejected claims that she mocked President Donald Trump while standing right next to him.
The Dutch Queen went viral because of a video showing what many interpreted as her mocking the U.S. president with exaggerated mouth and lip movements immediately after Trump finished speaking while they posed for photos.
Speaking to Dutch news outlet AD, Queen Máxima denied that her expressive face was meant as an unflattering imitation of Trump. “I said ‘thank you’ to someone who had helped,” she explained.
The European royal added that it was “a pleasant experience” to meet Trump following the NATO summit held in The Hague. Dutch Crown Princess Amalia, the eldest child of Queen Máxima and King Willem-Alexander, also said it was “really cool” to meet the U.S. president on June 25, Queen Máxima added to AD.
The seemingly innocuous clip of Queen Máxima and Trump sparked speculation across the world. While posing for photos alongside King Willem-Alexander at Paleis Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, Trump smiled and gave a thumbs-up, adding, “That’s the picture we want.”
The King then asked Trump, who stayed at Paleis Huis ten Bosch during his visit, whether he’d slept well, to which Trump replied, “It was great.”
A voice off-camera can then be heard saying, “Thank you all very much,” with Trump also saying, “Thank you very much.”
Queen Máxima immediately turned away from Trump to face the press and appeared to make exaggerated facial movements, which she now insists was merely her saying “thank you” as well.
Vani Mehrotra, a deputy news editor at India’s English-language channel CNN News 18, was among those speculating that Queen Máxima was openly mocking Trump with her expressions.
“Did she really do that?” Mehrotra wrote while sharing a clip of the incident on X.
Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo also joked that Trump might respond with military force after seeing the clip of the royal seemingly mocking him.
“She’s clearly making fun of his mouth. You know, doing the Trump lip thing,” Arroyo said. “She better be careful, you know. She could get a personalized bunker buster from Daddy Trump if she’s not really careful,” he added, referencing the bombs the U.S. used to target Iran’s nuclear facilities in June.
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