London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

Trump cuts short Nato summit after fellow leaders' hot-mic video

US president cancels press conference after video captured group of leaders apparently ridiculing him

A furious Donald Trump cut short his attendance at the Nato summit in London after a group of leaders, including Boris Johnson, was caught on video ridiculing the US president at Buckingham Palace for staging lengthy press conferences.

The notoriously thin-skinned Trump cancelled a planned press conference and branded the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, “two-faced” after he was revealed on video leading the laughter at Trump’s expense together with other US allies.

Trump said the Canadian leader was probably angry because he called him out over Canada’s failure to meet the Nato target of spending 2% of its GDP on defence, a figure that has developed a shibboleth status in the president’s eyes and underlines his transactional approach to the western defence alliance.

Footage emerged late on Tuesday that appears to show world leaders joking about Trump at the summit, which has been marked by sharp disagreements over spending and future threats, including Turkey’s role in the alliance and China, as well as a clash of personalities that triggered a flurry of incendiary language being deployed by leaders.

The video shows leaders including Trudeau, Johnson, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, and Princess Anne at the Buckingham Palace event on Tuesday evening.

In audio caught on a nearby microphone, Johnson asks Macron: “Is that why he was late?” before Trudeau interjects: “He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top.”

Trudeau adds: “Oh, yeah, yeah yeah. He announced … ” before he is cut off by Macron, who speaks animatedly to the group. Macron’s back is to the camera and his words are inaudible.

After an edited cut in the film, the footage later shows an incredulous Trudeau telling the group: “You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor.”

The US president was sitting alongside the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Wednesday when a reporter asked about Trudeau’s apparent remarks.

“Well, he’s two-faced,” Trump said of Trudeau, before going on to make a reference to the defence spending of Nato allies who commit less than the agreed 2% to defence.

“I find him to be a very nice guy but you know the truth is that I called him out the fact that he’s not paying 2% and I can see he’s not very happy about it. He’s not paying 2% and he should be paying 2%. Canada – they have money.”

Apparently aware of how his actions would be interpreted, Trump was then himself caught on a hot mic saying: “Oh, and then you know what they’ll say. He didn’t do a press conference. He didn’t do a press conference. That was funny when I said the guy’s two-faced, you know that.”

The US president later tweeted: “When today’s meetings are over, I will be heading back to Washington … We won’t be doing a press conference at the close of Nato because we did so many over the past two days. Safe travels to all!”

On Wednesday evening he tweeted: “The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to belittle my VERY successful trip to London for NATO. I got along great with the NATO leaders, even getting them to pay $130 Billion a year more, & $400 Billion a year more in 3 years. No increase for U.S., only deep respect!”

Overall the episode is only likely to underline the sense that the supposed leader of the free world is privately viewed with a mixture of mirth and alarm.

Asked at his own press conference about the video footage, Johnson shook his head and said: “That’s complete nonsense. I don’t know where that’s come from.”

Pressed again, he said: “I really don’t know what’s being referred to there.” Johnson’s aides would not say whether he had seen the video, but claimed he had been “very busy” at the summit.

Privately Downing Street will be relieved that the unpredictable Trump did not face the international media again, fearing that under questioning he might rescind his commitment not to include the NHS in any future trade talks or repeat his criticisms of the terms of Johnson’s Brexit deal.

With Trump seen as electorally toxic in the UK in the final days of the election campaign, it is notable that few public images of the two men together have been released, despite the pair attending events at both Buckingham Palace and No 10 on Wednesday, as well as having their own bilateral meeting.

Johnson also sidestepped the opportunity to praise Trump personally when asked if he thought the president’s leadership was good for the west and for Britain, replying by praising the US as a nation.

Trudeau also tried to play down the laughter at the president’s expense. He said: “We had a great meeting yesterday between me and the president … Last night I made a reference to the fact there was an unscheduled press conference before my meeting with President Trump, I was happy to take part in it but it was certainly notable,” Trudeau said.

Trump had startled his aides on Monday by holding two lengthy impromptu freewheeling press conferences, one with the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, and another with President Macron. At the first he launched a tirade against Macron, calling the French president’s remarks that Nato was “brain dead” as “very, very nasty” and “insulting”.

At the second event, he was personally polite to Macron but clashed with him over France’s refusal to take back its foreign fighters from Syria, and then threatened trade sanctions against countries that did not reach the Nato defence target, so putting Germany in his sights.

Ironically until his abrupt walkout, Trump had shown a new relative warmth to Nato, claiming credit for the recent rise in European defence spending and praising the institution in the face of Macron’s criticisms. He even said: “There’s a great spirit. A lot of people are putting up a lot of money.”

The comments had marked a change of tone from sentiments he voiced at the outset of his presidency, when he dismissed the alliance as obsolescent and questioned the value of article 5, the collective defence clause that requires Nato members to come to each other’s military aid if under attack.

It is not the first time Trump has had a run-in with Trudeau. Last year he withdrew US support for a G7 declaration prepared for a summit in Charlevoix, Quebec. Trudeau’s hard work in preparing the communique unravelled after Trump, who left early, tweeted from Air Force One that Trudeau was “very dishonest and weak” following criticism from the prime minister of US steel and aluminium tariffs. As a result France at this year’s G7 tried to pare the communique down to a minimum.

Trump is due to chair the next G7 at Camp David next year. He had originally scheduled to hold the high security event at his Doral Miami resort in Florida, but agreed to shift the venue in wake of criticism that it was inappropriate to use his own property for such a purpose.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×