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President Donald Trump hurled a tablet across the Oval Office when technical difficulties prevented him from talking on a group call with Canada’s then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to a report.
The incident allegedly took place during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the White House in February 2025, about two weeks into Trump’s second term. The two leaders were using the electronic device to join a call led by Trudeau when they were met with tech issues.
Trump became annoyed by the issue, which was preventing him from speaking on the call, and threw the device over the Resolute Desk and onto the floor, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an official who was present during the meeting.
The president’s alleged temper tantrum was documented in an exposé published by the Journal on Sunday, which revealed the lengths European leaders have gone to keep Trump at bay since he returned to the White House last year.
The article also revealed that in January 2025, nearly 30 European leaders held a secret emergency meeting in Brussels to discuss a potential future free from depending on the U.S.
President Donald Trump hurled a tablet across the Resolute Desk over a technical issue during a video call with world leaders, according to a report (AP)
The meeting came as Trump threatened to use military force to take Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark. One leader present for the meeting compared it to group therapy, a source told the Journal.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has been referred to as the “Trump whisperer,” worked to salvage the American-led alliance by praising Trump, a tactic the European press coined “flattery diplomacy.”
Rutte leaned heavily on praise — and even mimicked Trump’s signature style of texting in all-caps — in an effort that left other world leaders jokingly referring to him as “an actor who never broke character,” according to the report.
His efforts to charm Trump began when the president was sworn in, and the Secretary General urged other leaders in the secret Brussels meeting last year to deliver Trump a “win,” according to the report. Rutte advised the others to disguise an increase in defense spending as a Trump victory. Soon after, European leaders would begin to follow Rutte’s example, copying the president’s syntax and hyperbole in text messages with Trump.
That included Finland’s president and Norway’s prime minister, who started “workshopping” their text messages to Trump. The leaders would discuss which words they should capitalize before sending their correspondence.
Norway’s Jonas Gahr Store reportedly preferred that his Finnish counterpart, Alexander Stubb, to message Trump, over worries that mentioning Norway, home of the Nobel Peace Prize, would draw ire from Trump after the president failed to secure last year’s title.
Trump’s tantrum reportedly took place during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron as the pair tried to call then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (AFP/Getty)
Other leaders have also taken on a more cautious approach when discussing policy with Trump — and some have even taken to using his own lingo when speaking with him.
When Trump echoed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s disdain about a ceasefire in Ukraine, the leaders started describing their peace plan — which amounted to a ceasefire — as “stop the killing.” Top European Union official Ursula von der Leyen, who Trump lectured on sanctions, started referring to economic pressure as “tariffs” to mirror Trump’s language, according to the report.
While the flattery diplomacy worked for a bit, by late last summer, the tactic had gone stale when a group of leaders visited the White House to try and forge a peace deal for Ukraine.
However, during that meeting, the leaders realized they wouldn’t be able to get Trump to support the Western position on Ukraine — or any other policy, according to the report.
One person present at the meeting described it as “an excruciating experience” that signaled how little influence America’s allies have on the current administration.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.