Did the leader of the Great White North just troll President Donald Trump? It would appear that Justin Trudeau, that maple-chugging hoser, just went there. It’s subtle, and you’ll need to know some backstory…but the payoff is absolutely worth it.
President Trump has a few eccentricities.
He’s known for wanting to have things just so. This is why his cabinet is full of his family members, and possibly why he’s known to be a clean freak. If he doesn’t like something, he’ll let you know.
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Mick Mulvaney ran afoul of the president recently.
Mulvaney, who serves as Director of the Office of Management and Budget in Trump’s cabinet, recently sat in for the taping of an interview between Trump and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News .
Mulvaney coughed.
Yeah, he literally coughed, just once, faintly in the background. This prompted a stern rebuke from the president (“You just can’t, you just can’t cough!”) and banishment from the Oval Office.
It seemed a tad extreme.
Then again, knowing Trump’s penchant for firing members of his inner circle (plus the fact that “You’re fired” is literally his catchphrase), it’s possible that Mulvaney got off easy for his cough transgression.
This is Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Canada and the U.S. have a cozy trading relationship, which means that their respective leaders meet up pretty often (it helps that their countries are right next door to each other, too). Days after the Mulvaney incident, Trudeau was set to meet with Trump.
Some more backstory…
Trump first met Trudeau early on in his presidency. At this time, the president was attracting headlines for his awkward, long, emphatic handshakes with dignitaries. Just look at the reaction of Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe.
Trudeau held firm.
During their initial meeting, the Canadian firmly, but politely, held his arm rigidly, resisting Trump’s efforts to pull him in closer. Because 21st century politics resemble Idiocracy more and more by the day, Trudeau’s handshake maneuvering got him all kinds of props.
This brings us to this week…
As Trump and Trudeau sat politely in Washington, posing for photos before talking trade, something was brewing. You can see a hint of it in Trudeau’s mischievous expression in the screengrab above.
Oh no he didn’t.
Trudeau, absolute madman that he is, deliberately and obviously coughed in the middle of Trump’s statement. It’s somewhat subtle, but there’s no missing it. He definitely waited until Trump started talking to clear his throat.
Did he do it on purpose?
Look, the only politician who’s likely to brag about intentionally trolling someone on the world stage is probably Donald Trump. So Trudeau will likely keep his lips sealed. But I think we all know what his intent was.
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