A dinner at Mar-a-Lago took an unexpected and humorous turn when a young child photobombed a picture featuring President-elect Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The candid moment quickly went viral.
In the photo, which was posted to X by Pennsylvania Senator-elect David McCormick, Trudeau and Trump could be seen sitting next to each other, surrounded by Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser.
Also around the table were McCormick and his wife, Dina Powell, a former deputy national security adviser under Trump, as well as Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, and Katie Telford, Trudeau’s chief of staff.
In the background, a child is seen sitting at another table behind pulling a face at the camera.
The photo quickly stirred up attention on social media, with Associated Press journalist Jill Colvin describing the child as “the real star” of the photo.
“The kid in back for the win,” lawyer Robert Kelner added in a post on X.
Trudeau flew to Florida on Friday to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate after the president-elect threatened to impose a 25 percent on all Canadian products sent to the U.S.
Olivier Douliery/AP
As Trudeau left a hotel in West Palm Beach on Saturday, he said his dinner with the president-elect the night before “was an excellent conversation.” He did not reveal what they discussed.
During a separate news conference on Friday morning, Trudeau expressed enthusiasm about upcoming discussions with Trump, saying he looks forward to having “great conversations” and collaborating to address “concerns and respond to some of the issues.”
“One of the things that is really important to understand is that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There’s no question about it,” Trudeau said Friday. “Our responsibility is to point out that in this way he would be actually not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States; he’d actually be raising prices for American citizens as well and hurting American industry and businesses.”
His comments echoed those of the Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, who also warned that Americans will suffer under Trump’s tariff proposals after the president-elect said he wanted to also impose 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico.
“To one tariff will come another and so on, until we put our common businesses at risk,” Sheinbaum said during a press conference, warning that tariffs would cause inflation and job losses in both countries.
If the tariffs are imposed, they could cost Americans an estimated $78 billion annually, NBC News reported, citing economists and retail trade groups, with everyday goods costing more.
Canada and Mexico are major trading partners with the U.S, accounting for almost 30 percent of U.S. trade volume. Canada is also one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, with 75 percent of its exports going to the U.S., so higher tariffs would have a significant effect on Canada’s economy.
Both Canada and Mexico have hinted that they are considering retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on his tariffs proposal. President Sheinbaum said this week after speaking with Trump that she was confident a tariff war with the United States will be averted.
Trump had said the tariffs were intended to curb the flow of illegal immigration and drugs into the U.S.
“As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before. Right now a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently Open Border. On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 percent Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” he wrote in a Truth Social Post.
