Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau, forgot Albo’s name during a NATO meeting, so he just called him “a friend in Australia” instead.
Things got hella awkward real quick at the NATO summit in Spain this week. Meeting for the first time ever, Trudeau and Albo’s bizarre exchange happened right in front of a whole bunch of cameras. After posing for a handshake, the Canadian PM stuttered the following:
“It’s a real pleasure to be meeting with, ah, ah, ah … a … great … progressive leader.” He continued, “we’re really, really excited to have … ah, a … friend in Australia.” Yikes.
After this embarrassing fumble, things seemed to get worse for Trudeau. Still spacing out on his name completely, he began referring to Aussie PM Albanese as “Tony.”
“Australia has been a long-time friend,” stated the Canadian PM. “We’ll be talking lots with, ah …. with Tony and all our friends in Australia.” Oopsie.
Great to meet Canadian Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau. I look forward to working together and sharing knowledge, skills and experiences on issues including climate action, social inclusion including for First Nations people and supporting peace and security in our region.🇦🇺🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/gzNBW3KnMV
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) June 30, 2022
Reportedly, Albo kept his cool the entire time Trudeau stammered on. The Aussie PM made no mention of the faux pas in the chummy Twitter post he made after: “Great to meet Canadian Prime Minister @JustinTrudea. I look forward to working together,” he wrote.
Australia is not actually a member of NATO, but was invited this year alongside South Korea, Japan and New Zealand. Reportedly, a primary item of discussion at the 2022 summit is each nation’s collective rising tensions with China.
