Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull mimicked President Trump during a leaked speech at a ball in Australia hosted by the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery on June 14. (AP)
You know what they say: In the age of smartphones, there's no such thing as off the record.
It's a lesson Australias prime minister just learned the hard way.
On Thursday, Malcolm Turnbull delivered a jovial speech at Parliament House's annual press ball, the equivalent of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. In it, he made fun of the Australian government's dismal poll rankings. And he did so usinga verbal tick made popular by a certain world leader.
Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls, Turnbull said. We are winning so much. We are winning like we have never won before.To raucous laughter, he continued: We are winning in the polls. We are, we are not the fake polls, not the fake polls theyre the one were not winning in. Were winning in the real polls, you know, the online polls. They are so easy to win.
Though the speech was off the record, it was recorded on a phone and broadcast by the Nine Network.
Turnbullalso referenced Trump's Russia troubles. Referencing his supposed glowing polls, Turnbull asked: Did you know that? I know that, did you know that? I kind of know that. I know that. They are so easy to win. I have this Russian guy.
The prime minister later tried to walk back his remarks, telling Melbourne Radio 3AW that he was disappointed by the leak. Its a breach of protocol; its a breach of faith and all those things, he said. Though he also noted the obvious:He was only kidding. Its lighthearted, its affectionate, good-natured and the butt of my jokes was myself, the prime minister said.
The U.S. Embassyin Canberra released a statement saying it takes the impersonation with the good humor that was intended.
We understand that last nights event is equivalent to our own White House correspondents dinner, the embassy's statement reads.
Historically, Australia has been one of America's closest allies, though that relationship has been tested under Trump. Turnbull's first telephone call with Trump was, in the president's words, testy.Trump was surprised and angry to learn about a deal that required the United States to accept about 1,250 refugees who had made their way to Australia.
Since then, though, the pair has made an effort to appear close, at least in public. Turnbull is rarely critical of the U.S. president, and even shares some of his hard-line views about immigration.
The head of the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, which hosted the event, said he was disappointed that the non-publication agreement had been breached. But Laurie Oakes, who broke the story, said he had not attended the ball and did not think that journalists should be in the business of letting politicians go off the record at events they host.
The idea that there be no leak with hundreds of people in the room armed with mobile phones is just ridiculous, Oakes told the Associated Press.
See the article here:
Australian leader is on the hot seat for making fun of Donald Trump - Washington Post
- Donald Trump Returns to Capitol Hill for First Time Since Jan. 6 Riot - The Wall Street Journal - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Opinion: Donald Trump's advice on drinking and drugs is 'Don't start.' So what's wrong with that? - Yahoo! Voices - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Jeffrey Katzenberg Is Bidens Secret Weapon Against Trump - The New York Times - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Behind Closed Doors, Trump Disparages Milwaukee, Host of His Party's Convention - The New York Times - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Trump's Campaign Was Just a Scammy Money Grab All Along - The New Republic - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Opinion | The American flag isnt another Trump property. Time to reclaim it. - The Washington Post - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Republicans host 'pep rally' with Trump in his first visit to Capitol Hill since Jan. 6 attack - NBC News - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Trump met with GOP lawmakers in Washington to rally support, push for unity - NPR - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- A second Trump term: from unthinkable to probable - The Economist - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Donald Trump on Capitol Hill for first time since Jan 6 riot - BBC.com - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Elections 2024 live updates: Trump touts 'tremendous unity' after GOP meetings on Hill - The Washington Post - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Who Is Favored To Win The 2024 Presidential Election? - FiveThirtyEight - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Trump slams Justice Department in meeting with congressional Republicans - The Washington Post - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Bitcoin miners at Donald Trump's closed-door event say he thinks bitcoin can help win AI arms race - CNBC - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- The problem with Donald Trump's advice on drugs and alcohol - Los Angeles Times - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Trump Returns to Washington With Renewed Grip on the G.O.P. - The New York Times - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Opinion | J.D. Vance on Where Hed Take the Republican Party - The New York Times - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- How Donald Trump's criminal conviction boosted his campaign fundraising machine - CNBC - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Donald Trump's Message to Milwaukee - The Atlantic - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Reportedly Questions Taylor Swifts Support for Joe Biden in Meeting With House Republicans: Why Would She Endorse This Dope? - Variety - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- How One Move Illustrates Trump's Tactics - The New York Times - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Pulls Off Shock Lead in State GOP Has Not Won in 36 Years - Newsweek - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Donald Trump's 'Unhinged' Email Has Critics Asking: 'Is He Out Of Control?' - Yahoo! Voices - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- JB Pritzker, the Democrat Who Isnt Afraid to Call Trump a Felon - The New York Times - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Opinion | In calling out Trump, Harris finds her mission - The Washington Post - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- A Brief History of the Phrase 'No One Is Above the Law' - The New York Times - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Jr. moves to be MAGA's new kingmaker - Axios - June 13th, 2024 [June 13th, 2024]
- Opinion | Media should stop calling Donald Trump a 'felon' - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Donald Trump tries to court pivotal 2024 voters after guilty verdict - USA TODAY - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Opinion | Trump has been convicted, but maybe hold the champagne - The Washington Post - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Democratic, GOP strategists on problems Biden and Trump face with undecided voters - PBS NewsHour - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Trump's New York gun permit to be revoked following conviction: Sources - ABC News - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Trump asks to have gag order lifted in New York criminal trial - CBS News - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Is Plotting His Next Crime - Democracy Docket - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Trump Gets a Fund-Raiser in Silicon Valley - The New York Times - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Donald Trump: Unless there is a death penalty for drug dealers, you will never solve the problem - Fox News - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- DNC to unveil new billboard calling Trump a "convicted felon" - CBS News - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Trump's Vows to Prosecute Rivals Put Rule of Law on the Ballot - The New York Times - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Will the Supreme Court nullify Trump's conviction? - Vox.com - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- What's next for Donald Trump after hush money conviction - The Associated Press - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Is Donald Trump Really a Male Icon? I Hope to God Not. - The Nation - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Opinion | Trump Is Blocking Out the Sun: Three Writers on the Politics of the Guilty Verdict - The New York Times - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Looming over Trump's conviction: reversal by the '13th juror' - POLITICO - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Both Sides of a Breakup: He Didn't Think Trump Was So Bad - The Cut - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Trump asks judge to lift gag order in hush money case after guilty verdict - Axios - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Court Delays Trump's Georgia Case, and U.N. Warns of 'Climate Hell' - The New York Times - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Republican Election Clerk Takes on Trump and His Supporters - The New York Times - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Trump surrogate Byron Donalds hearkens back to Jim Crow era when 'the Black family was together' - NBC News - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Donald Trump to speak at private CEOs meeting, weeks after conviction - CNBC - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Trump's conviction prompts election-year debate among Democrats: How much to focus on the verdict? - The Associated Press - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Georgia appeals court temporarily halts Trump's 2020 election case in Fulton County - CBS News - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- Suddenly Trump's got nothing to say about Hunter Biden - POLITICO - June 6th, 2024 [June 6th, 2024]
- 'Donald Trump Did This': How to Beat MAGA on Border Security - The Bulwark - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Potential Trump running mate JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr. have become so close that they text or talk on a 'nearly ... - Business Insider - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Trump Second Term: How the World and U.S. Allies Can Prepare for the Election - Foreign Policy - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Poll: Biden and Trump supporters sharply divided by the media they consume - NBC News - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Master Calendar of Trump Court Dates: Criminal and Civil Cases - Just Security - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Donald Trump's Sleepy, Sleazy Criminal Trial - The New Yorker - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Trump, GOP seize on campus protests to depict chaos under Biden - The Washington Post - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- UK briefing: How Donald Trump plans to survive hush money trial with his campaign intact newsletter - The Guardian - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Opinion | We Are Talking About the Manhattan Case Against Trump All Wrong - The New York Times - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Election 2024: Biden jokes, Trump still leads and updates from the Sunday shows. - The New York Times - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Pans White House Correspondents' Dinner: 'Colin Jost BOMBED' - The Daily Beast - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Trump's Trial Could Bring a Rarity: Consequences for His Words - The New York Times - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Bemoans Really Bad WHCD, Biden & Colin Jost After All Mock Much Indicted Ex-POTUS - Deadline - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- The Supreme Court's epic failure in dealing with Trump's cases - The Hill - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Donald Trump: In America's most important swing state, a key Biden group wants to hand the presidency to Trump. - Slate - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Is Being Ritually Humiliated in Court - The New Yorker - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Joe Biden trails Donald Trump in new national poll on 2024 election - USA TODAY - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Amid Cases on Abortion and Trump, Roberts Reflects on Supreme Court's Work - The New York Times - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Is Used to the Finer Things in Life. At the Courthouse, 'He's Miserable.' - The Wall Street Journal - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- How Trumps Rhetoric at Rallies Has Escalated - The New York Times - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- The Supreme Court Appears Poised to Protect the Presidencyand Donald Trump - The New Yorker - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- The Supreme Court seems divided over Donald Trump's immunity - The Economist - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- John Dean Says 1 Thing 'Keeping Me On The Edge Of My Seat' In Trump Trial - Yahoo! Voices - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Five Moments That Have Defined Donald Trump's Trial So Far - The New York Times - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- How Trumps trial is playing, politically - The Washington Post - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Opinion | The Ukraine aid vote helps, but U.S. allies complacency would be unwise - The Washington Post - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Hey, SCOTUS your hypocrisy is showing - The Hill - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]
- Bill Barr Is Happy to Debase Himself for Donald Trump Again Mother Jones - Mother Jones - April 29th, 2024 [April 29th, 2024]