DONALD Trump officially spoke to new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on the phone for the first time yesterday – but it was an Irish reporter that really caught the President’s attention.
Whilst on the phone to Mr Varadkar, Trump called RTÉ's Washington Correspondent Caitriona Perry over to his desk, saying: 'And where are you from? Go ahead, come here.”
When Ms Perry arrived at the President’s desk, he continued: “We have all of this beautiful Irish press.
“She has a nice smile on her face, so I bet she treats (Varadkar) well.”
As she stood beside Mr Trump at his desk, Ms Perry continued smiling before moving back to her seat.
I am sorry our President treated you this way.
— Jon (((Wolfsthal))) (@JBWolfsthal) June 28, 2017
Others in the room can be heard giggling at the President’s remark.
Ms Perry quickly took to Twitter to share the footage, calling her encounter with President Trump "bizarre".
The video has since been retweeted over 10,000 times – with a number of American users apologising for Mr Trump’s comment.
“Ms Perry, please accept the apology of at least 1 female American,” said one while others branded the president as “gross”.
Actor Kevin Chamberlin said:” called you over to look you over. Gross,” adding the hashtag #EmbarrassedForMyCountry.
Needless to say, male reporters are not told that they have a "nice smile" https://t.co/H8pH5CKZd7
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) June 28, 2017
The incident has sparked interest in RTÉ reporter Caitriona Perry, with one article titled ‘Caitriona Perry: 5 facts you need to know’ appearing in the American press.
Ms Perry appeared to take the encounter in her stride.
Talking to an RTÉ colleague afterwards, she said: “One minute we were outside the window and the next minute I'm meeting the President of The United States.
“Usually we would shoot from outside the window of the White House and that's what we were expecting today but instead we were invited inside to witness the President's call to the Taoiseach.
“When we went in he was already on the phone but I managed to catch his eye and he called me over”.
See the incident below...
Video of the bizarre moment when President @realDonaldTrump called me over during his call with Taoiseach @campaignforLeo Varadkar. @rtenews pic.twitter.com/TMl2SFQaji
— Caitriona Perry (@CaitrionaPerry) June 27, 2017
