A Unique Moment at the Gaza Peace Summit
During a speech at the Gaza peace summit held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, US President Donald Trump made an amusing misstep by referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as the country’s president. This moment sparked a light-hearted exchange between the two leaders, highlighting the informal and sometimes unpredictable nature of international diplomacy.
Trump, who delivered a half-hour speech, expressed gratitude to world leaders for their roles in the US-brokered ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. He specifically mentioned Canada, saying, “You have Canada. That’s so great to have, in fact, the president called, and he wanted to know if it’s worth – well, he knew exactly what it is. He knew the importance. Where’s Canada, by the way? Where are you? He knew the importance of this.”
Following the speech, Mark Carney approached Trump to shake his hand and joke about the misstep, saying he was “glad you upgraded me to president.” Trump chuckled and responded, “Oh, did I?” before adding, “I’m sorry! At least it wasn’t Governor,” referencing the repeated accusations of appearing ‘senile’ that he has faced.
Unusual Remarks and Surprises
As Trump continued his speech, he offered a running commentary on other leaders present in the room. He repeatedly questioned why some leaders were standing with him at the podium while he spoke. When he reached France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Trump was surprised he was not among those standing.
“France, thank you very much Emmanuel. I would imagine Emmanuel standing someplace behind me,” Trump said, looking around before spotting the president in the audience. “I can’t believe it. You’re taking a low key approach today.”
He then praised the leader of Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been working to dismantle the country’s democracy. “Oh Viktor, where is Viktor? We love Viktor. Veektor, I call him, put the little accent on it,” Trump said. “You are fantastic. I know a lot of people don’t agree with me, but I’m the only one that matters. You are fantastic.”
Awkward Moments and Political Remarks
Trump also praised the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as “beautiful” when he noted her attendance. “Italy. We have a woman, a young woman who’s – I’m not allowed to say it because usually it’s the end of your political career if you say it – she’s a beautiful young woman,” Trump said. “Now if you use the word beautiful in the United States about a woman, that’s the end of your political career, but I’ll take my chances.”
During the speech, Trump read out a list of countries present at the summit and praised many of them for their work towards peace in the Middle East or in various other international conflicts. The list ended with the United Kingdom and Sir Keir Starmer, who received a warm welcome from the US leader, who referred to the Prime Minister as “his friend.”
Sir Keir awkwardly appeared to mistake this as an invitation to the stage, stepping up to have his moment in the spotlight before it was cut short by his US counterpart. As he finished his list, Trump said: “Where is United Kingdom, where is my friend, Starmer. The Prime Minister replied: ‘I am right behind you as usual’.” The President then invited Sir Keir to the stage, saying: “Come up here, is everything going good?” Starmer awkwardly replied “very good” as he turned toward the microphone.
A New Beginning for the Middle East
Trump, alongside dozens of world leaders, had gathered in Egypt on Monday to celebrate the long-awaited peace agreement between the warring factions. “This is a great day, this is a whole new beginning,” Trump told reporters after arriving at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Monday morning. “And I think there’s never been an event like it, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Trump later made his way to the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh where he signed off on his plan for peace in the Middle East at the summit, alongside fellow negotiators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey. No representative from Israel or Hamas was, however, present at the signing ceremony.
Trump hailed the “momentous” breakthrough and “the new beginning for an entire beautiful Middle East” after Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and detainees. As he signed the ceasefire deal document, Trump spoke of how moved he was by seeing Israeli hostages being reunited with their families. “It’s a beautiful thing to see,” he said. “In one sense, it’s so horrible that it could have taken place, but in another sense, it’s so beautiful to see a new and beautiful day is rising.”
Emotional reunions have taken place across Israel, Gaza and the West Bank after all 20 living Israeli hostages and captives were released by Hamas, before Israel released more than 1,900 prisoners and detainees. Buses carrying dozens of freed Palestinians drove to the West Bank city of Ramallah and the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run Prisoners Office said.
