U.S. President Donald Trump called Sophie Grégoire Trudeau a “lovely lady, wonderful lady, great lady,” following her positive coronavirus test.
The remarks came Friday as part of a news conference where Trump both declared a national emergency around the coronavirus pandemic and shirked responsibility for ongoing testing kit issues in the U.S.
Trump was asked about a call he shared with Grégoire Trudeau’s husband, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Thursday, which took place while awaiting her test results.
“Since then I’ve heard, read, that the result was she has it and I was a little surprised and I think [the prime minister] was surprised also,” Trump said. “He thought that she would not, most likely, have the virus.”
Grégoire Trudeau’s positive test results came back Thursday night and she remains in quarantine at her home. On Friday, the prime minister said he and their family are following self-isolation protocol, though neither he nor their children have symptoms that would require testing.
In addition to discussing Grégoire Trudeau’s diagnosis, Trump gave a conflicting report with Trudeau on if the two discussed the possible U.S.-Canada border measures during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
““She is a lovely lady, wonderful lady, great lady.””
- U.S. president Donald Trump
Asked if he had spoken with Trump about keeping the border open, Trudeau said earlier Friday his officials have worked closely with their U.S. counterparts to “coordinate efforts” at the border.
But Trump denied any border talk, saying the call was mostly to celebrate Canada’s passing of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
“We didn’t discuss the border,” he said. “We’ve had a very good relationship, just about finished the USMCA. He called me to tell me that, I think that was the primary reason for the call.”
UPDATE: On Saturday, Trump tweeted that he had again spoken with the prime minister and was pleased to hear “his wonderful wife Sophie is doing very well.”
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