New footage shows several European leaders sharing a laugh over President Donald Trump’s constant confusion between Albania and Armenia.
Earlier this year, Trump helped broker an end to nearly 40 years of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, prompting calls from some of the president’s allies that he should be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
But Trump himself has had a hard time describing it, often butchering the names of the countries involved and confusing Armenia with Albania, which is nearly 1,500 miles away.
At one point, he claimed to have “settled” a war between “Aberbaijan” and Albania.
That led to the moment caught on camera between French President Emmanuel Macron, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev at the European Political Community meeting in Copenhagen on Thursday, according to The Telegraph.
“You should make an apology to us,” Rama told Macron as Aliyev and others looked on. “Because you didn’t congratulate us on the peace deal that President Trump made between Albania and Azerbaijan.”
Several people in the gathering laughed, and Macron smiled.
“I am sorry for that,” he said, and playfully smacked Rama on the cheek:
The moment seems to confirm what California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said over the summer.
“I’ve had the privilege of meeting a lot of foreign leaders,” Newsom said at a Politico event in August. “They’re laughing behind his back.”
While Newsom has been relentlessly trolling Trump online, he insisted that his observation was based on “dozens and dozens” of encounters with foreign leaders and officials.
“They’re laughing behind his back,” Newsom said. “He’s being played everywhere. It’s an embarrassment.”
During Trump’s first term, a clip went viral that appeared to show world leaders snarking behind his back at a reception in Buckingham Palace:
World leaders also had a laugh at Trump’s expense at the 2018 United Nations General Assembly while he was bragging about his supposed accomplishments: