President Trump called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “two-faced” Wednesday after a hot-mic video appeared to show Mr. Trudeau joking with other leaders about Mr. Trump’s tendency to hold impromptu press conferences during bilateral meetings.
“Well, he’s two-faced. And with Trudeau, he’s a nice guy. I find him to be a nice guy, but the truth is, I called him out on the fact that he’s not paying 2%, and I guess he’s not very happy about it,” Mr. Trump told reporters in London for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.
Mr. Trump was referring to his insistence that North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries spend at least 2% of gross domestic product on defense. The president is fond of calling out nations by name if they aren’t meeting that benchmark.
“They have money. And they should be paying 2%,” Mr. Trump said. “So I called him out on that, and I’m sure he wasn’t happy about that, but that’s the way it is. Look, I’m representing the U.S. And he should be paying more than he’s paying. And he understands it. So I can imagine he’s not that happy. But that’s the way it is.”
A video making the rounds on Twitter appears to show Mr. Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson chatting and laughing about how Mr. Trump’s long-winded remarks clog up their schedules and make them late for other events.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Trudeau are trying to get a North American trade deal across the finish line but they’ve sparred at times, notably after last year’s Group of Seven summit in Quebec.
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Canadian disgust over Mr. Trump’s threat steel and aluminum tariffs led to turmoil at the time. Mr. Trudeau called the rationale for the tariffs — national security — insulting, prompting Mr. Trump to label the Canadian leader “very dishonest and weak” in tweets from Air Force One.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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