Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney jokingly corrected President Donald Trump after he called the North American leader president rather than prime minister.
The 79-year-old president had dismissed the press and was shaking hands with world leaders at the Middle East summit Monday, but the camera was still rolling and mic still on after his speech.
“Well, I’m glad you upgraded me to president,” Carney could be heard saying before laughing.
Trump paused as he realized his flub and gave Carney a friendly swat before shooting back with a smile “at least I didn’t say governor.”
The president had called Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, governor on numerous occasions as he pushed for Canada to become the 51st state. However, he has dropped the demands with Carney taking over the position.
Trump’s speech following the signing of the Gaza ceasefire deal in Egypt stretched nearly half an hour, as he veered between thanking world leaders and rambling on a series of unrelated topics.
When it came time to praise Canada, Trump said “the president called, and he wanted to know if it’s worthwhile” to attend the summit. Trump also referred to Carney directly as “Mr. President.”
The president gave a running commentary as he noted other leaders in the room. He repeatedly questioned why some of the leaders were standing with him up at the podium as he spoke.
When he got to France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Trump was surprised he was not among those standing.
“France, thank you very much Emmanuel. I would imagine Emmanuel standing someplace behind me,” Trump said looking around him before spotting the president in the audience. “I can’t believe it. You’re taking a low key approach today.”
The president moments later gushed about the leader of Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been working to dismantle the country’s democracy.
“Oh Viktor, where is Viktor? We love Viktor. Veektor, I call him, put the little accent on it,” Trump said. “You are fantastic. I know a lot of people don’t agree with me, but I’m the only one that matters. You are fantastic.”
The president praised the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as beautiful when he noted her attendance. She was the lone woman leader standing on the stage for the summit and kept a straight face as he went off on her appearance.
“Italy. We have a woman, a young woman who’s – I’m not allowed to say it because usually it’s the end of your political career if you say it – she’s a beautiful young woman,” Trump said. “Now if you use the word beautiful in the United States about a woman, that’s the end of your political career, but I’ll take my chances.”
When it was time to mention Norway, Trump was clearly still bitter about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded on Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
“We have Norway. Oh Norway. Ayayay. Norway. What happened, Norway? What happened?” he said while looking around the room, unable to locate its leader right away.
In another hot-mic moment, after Trump told the press to clear the room during talks with world leaders, he was approached by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
Most of their exchange was inaudible, but the name “Eric” could be clearly heard—presumably a reference to Trump’s son, who now runs the Trump Organization.
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