Slip-ups Made by Global Leaders Believing No One Is Listening

This week, Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto thought he was having a private conversation with American leader Donald Trump during Middle East peace talks in Egypt.

Instead, a live microphone situation revealed Prabowo asking Trump to arrange a meeting with his son Don Jr, who serve as executives at the Trump organization.

It represented only one in a string of missteps committed by international figures thinking they're off the record.

Here are several additional memorable blunders:

Organ Transplants and Everlasting Life

At a military parade in Beijing this September, China's leader Xi Jinping and Russia's head Vladimir Putin were overheard discussing organ replacement as a approach for extending lifespan.

"Vital organs can be continuously replaced. The more you extend your life, the younger you become, and you can even reach eternal life," Putin's interpreter was recorded stating.

Xi, who was off camera, responded in Chinese: "Some predict that in this century people may live to 150 years old."

Dialogue heard between China's leader Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin

'Water Lapping at Your Door'

Ex-Australia immigration minister Peter Dutton came under fire in 2015 when he made light about the plight of people in the Pacific experiencing ocean encroachment.

Dutton was conversing with former PM Tony Abbott, who had recently come back from environmental talks with regional heads in Port Moresby.

Observing how a migration discussion was running on "delayed schedule", Abbott replied: "There was a similar situation up in Port Moresby."

Dutton commented: "Schedules become irrelevant when you're about to have the ocean reaching your home."

The comments sparked outrage from regional nations and climate activists, while the opposition Labor party demanded Dutton to issue an apology.

Peter Dutton recorded making jokes with Tony Abbott about rising sea levels

'Prejudiced Voter'

As Labour prime minister Gordon Brown was campaigning in 2010, he faced a voter who questioned him on migration and the economy.

Still wired up to a Sky news microphone when he got into his vehicle, Brown was recorded stating: "That went terribly – they should not have placed me with that individual. Who thought of that? Absurd."

When questioned about she had said, he answered: "All topics, she was just a bigoted woman."

The scandal received extensive coverage for an extended period and Brown ultimately lost the political race.

'I Cannot Bear Netanyahu. He Lies.'

Ex-American leader Barack Obama was in conversation at the international conference in Cannes in 2011 with then French president Nicolas Sarkozy when their comments about Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu were captured by a live microphone.

Sarkozy said: "I can't stand Netanyahu. He's a liar."

Per a account from a French interpreter quoted by Reuters, Obama responded: "You've had enough but I must work with him more often than you."

'Major League ***hole'

A vintage recording incident from former White House hopeful George W. Bush occurred when he made a negative comment about a reporter from The New York Times.

The GOP candidate was unaware that a microphone was live when he leaned over to Dick Cheney at a Labor Day rally and remarked, "There's Adam Clymer, complete jerk from the New York Times."

Cheney answered: "Absolutely, that's true, definitely."

Bush at a political gathering in 2000
Kristy Ramirez
Kristy Ramirez

A seasoned digital marketer and content creator with over a decade of experience in helping bloggers achieve their goals through practical advice.

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