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- 18 photos show Trump's disastrous NATO summit, where he was left isolated and embarrassed by his closest allies
18 photos show Trump's disastrous NATO summit, where he was left isolated and embarrassed by his closest allies
Trump and his wife Melania arrived at London Stansted Airport on Monday ahead of the 70th NATO summit held in Watford, UK. Trump was triumphant, claiming credit for increased budget contributions from many NATO member states.
However, his disastrous two days kicked off right from the outset as Trump called comments from French President Emmanuel Macron about the "brain death" of NATO "nasty" and "very insulting."
Macron's comments were made in reference to the military incursion of northern Syria by Turkey, another NATO ally.
Source: Business Insider, The Economist, The BBC
Later in a one-on-one press conference, Trump tried to act diplomatically by saying France and the US had "done a lot of good things together," however Macron publicly fact-checked Trump on claims he made about ISIS.
Source: Business Insider
In what appeared to be a jab at Trump, Macron said the "No.1 priority, because it's not yet finished, is to get rid of ISIS and these terrorist groups," adding: "It's not yet done. I'm sorry to say that."
Macron also questioned Trump on his assertion that foreign fighters in ISIS were predominantly from Europe.
"Let's be serious. The very large numbers of fighters you have on the ground are coming from Syria, from Iraq and the region," said Macron.
Source: Business Insider
Reports then emerged that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was actively avoiding being photographed with Trump, and decided not to schedule a one-on-one meeting with the US president, fearing that it could hinder his party's chances in next week's general election in the UK.
Source: Financial Times, NBC News
On Tuesday evening a reception was held at Buckingham Palace for the world leaders attending the summit, hosted by the Queen.
A video from the event which later went viral appeared to show several world leaders including Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Macron and Britain's Princess Anne mocking Trump behind his back.
Source: Business Insider
In the video, Trudeau appears to make fun of Trump's press conference earlier that morning in which he attacked Macron for his 'brain dead' comments regarding NATO saying: "He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top.
Trudeau appeared very animated during the conference and prompted laughs from the other world leaders in response to his comments.
As Trump was pictured leaving the event the video garnered media attention and went viral, causing embarrassment for the president and raising suggestions that other world leaders do not take him seriously.
Source: Business Insider
Trudeau reportedly cleared the air Wednesday morning in a meeting with Trump where he offered "context" to the jokes made in the video, but failed to offer an apology.
Source: Business Insider , CNN
Apparently still upset by the incident, Trump called Trudeau "two-faced" later on Wednesday in a press conference.
In his own hot-mic moment, he was overheard saying: "That was funny when when I said the guy is two-faced," according to White House reporters.
Sources: CNN, Business Insider
Trump then announced he would cancel a press conference scheduled that day and head straight back to Washington after finishing his meetings.
Source: Business Insider
"We'll go directly back. I think we've done plenty of press conferences—unless you're demanding a press conference, we'll do one — but I think we've had plenty of questions," he said.
The comments were made during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Source: Business Insider
Photographs of the president looking down and apparently sulking appear to show he was humiliated by the events of the summit, and may have prompted his early departure.
Leaders such as Trudeau, Johnson, and Macron have all previously had positive and friendly diplomatic relations with the President.
An analysis by Business Insider's Alexandra Ma argued that the events of the summit and the leaders behaviour shows the world may no longer be taking Trump seriously.
18 photos show Trump's disastrous NATO summit, where he was left isolated and embarrassed by his closest allies
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