Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tried out his Trump impersonation, and it leaked
Relations between President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull got off to a rocky start, thanks to a grumpy phone call, but the two leaders of the closely allied nations patched things up. Well, it turns out Trump isn't the only one of the two with a leak problem. On Tuesday night, Turnbull tried his hand at comedic impersonations in front of a room of reporters at Parliament House's Mid Winter Ball in Canberra, an event that is supposed to be off the record. Well, someone had their camera on, and Nine News political director Laurie Oakes obtained a copy of Turnbull's routine and published it.
Honestly, it's mostly pretty tame stuff, as far as Trump roasts go. "The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls," Turnbull said. "We are winning so much, we are winning, we are winning like we have never won before." Yes, "we are winning in the polls," he said. "Not the fake polls, not the fake polls! They're the ones we're not winning in. We're winning in the real polls — you know, the online polls. ... They are so easy to win — I have this Russian guy. Believe me, it's true, it is true."
That Russian quip might leave a mark, actually. "I'm not sure The Donald would be all that amused by that reference to a 'Russian guy,'" Oakes points out. "Vladimir Putin might be, though."
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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