After the hilarious impersonation by actress Laura Benanti of First Lady Melania Trump on a CBS talk show, the spotlight is back on President Donald trump. However, the impersonation is not by actor Alec Baldwin.
The impersonator was Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who mocked the U.S. president at the Midwinter Ball which gathered Australian media and politicians. The event is the Australian version of the White House Correspondents Annual Gala Dinner, Mashable reported.
Off-the-record
The tradition is that the media present at the event would not report what transpired at the Midwinter Ball.
Given this unwritten rule, Turnbull poked fun at Trump by imitating the American President. Unfortunately for the PM, the audio of his speech, which includes the impersonation, leaked. 9 News political reporter Laurie Oakes, who was not at the gala, published the audio.
The two leaders actually have something in common. Their approval ratings were slipping and disapproval ratings going up. Turnbull made fun of the situation by saying in a mocking tone, “We are winning in the real polls.” He said online polls are so easy to win, so they are winning like never before.
The PM clarified that Trump and he were not winning the fake polls, which mocks the frequent excuse of the American President and his followers.
They often denounce polls and news with results not favorable to Trump as fake. Turnbull delivered those lines the way Trump does, complete with the movement of the tiny hands.
Russian friend
Trump’s close friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin did not escape Turnbull’s impersonation. He said, “I have this Russian friend.
Believe me, it’s true,” a veiled reference to the ongoing FBI investigation into the ties between Trump’s camp and Russian officials during the 2016 campaign period, The Telegraph reported.
Initially, only some of Trump’s allies such as ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and son-in-law Jared Kushner were being investigated.
When Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, special counsel Robert Mueller expanded the investigation to include the president for obstruction of justice.
Turnbull said he was disappointed with the audio leak. He added that in the 2018 edition of the Midwinter Ball, he would just read selected passages from budget paper number 2 to be safe. The PM clarified it was a lighthearted impersonation which was affectionate and good-natured.
He insisted the butt of jokes was himself. Trump has not yet reacted to the impersonation. If he would, Trump would likely tweet his reaction or maybe he will call Turnbull and slam again the phone on the PM. In January, when Trump learned about a deal to transfer refugees to the U.S. from Australia negotiated during the term of President Barack Obama, he slammed the phone on Turnbull.
