Leaked Audio Won't Put Aussie PM in Trump's Good Graces

Malcolm Turnbull mimics the president
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 15, 2017 1:42 PM CDT

Malcolm Turnbull should probably expect another heated phone call with President Trump. During what was supposed to be an off-the-record speech Wednesday at the Australian Parliament's Midwinter Ball—comparable to the White House Correspondents Dinner in the US—the Australian prime minister put on his best Trump impression, mimicking his speech and mannerisms, reports CNN. (Listen to a clip here.) "The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls. … We are, we are," Turnbull said to laughs, according to audio leaked by 9 News. "Not the fake polls. They're the ones we're not winning in. We're winning in the real polls."

He didn't stop there. Online polls "are so easy to win. I have this Russian guy. Believe me it's true, it is true," Turnbull continued. He went on to describe his May meeting with Trump in New York as "beautiful. It was the most beautiful putting-me-at-ease ever." Turnbull tells radio station 3AW that the leak of the audio is "a breach of protocol" and "a breach of faith." But the speech itself was "light-hearted, affectionate, good-natured," and "the butt of my jokes was myself," he adds. "You've got to have a laugh." At the US Embassy in Australia, officials took the same stance. "We take this with the good humor that was intended," a rep tells 9 News. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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