Donald Trump left a female CNN host audibly stunned after veering wildly off script during a Board of Peace meeting to muse about “young, handsome men” and his preference for women.
The bizarre moment took place as the 79-year-old president hosted global leaders in Washington on Thursday for his first meeting of the board he set up to rival the UN, giving himself sweeping powers to appoint members, veto all decisions, and intervene in “hotspots” around the world.
After an odd start—in which leaders awkwardly waited for the president to arrive as his favorite songs blasted through the speakers—Trump took the stage and began introducing each member country alphabetically.
But while welcoming Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, Trump offered a somewhat creepy aside about the 47-year-old’s youth and appearance.
“It’s always nice to be young and handsome,” Trump told him. “It doesn’t mean we have to like you. I don’t like young, handsome men. Women—I like. Men, I don’t have any interest.”
CNN was one of the networks televising the meeting live, at least until Trump made his comment about young, handsome men.
At that moment, a woman’s voice, belonging to either Sara Sidner or co-host Kate Bolduan, could be heard on a hot mic, asking the head-scratching question many viewers were also thinking: “What?!”
Fellow CNN host John Berman quickly stepped in to resume normal programming.
“Right, President Trump is speaking to his, uh, Board of Peace….” Berman began.
Trump’s comments, which came hours after the former Prince Andrew was arrested over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal in the U.K., were also widely pilloried on social media.
“When someone repeatedly drifts into sexual remarks on global stages - while their name circulates in the Epstein files - it stops being ‘awkward’,” said one woman on X.
“No sane and normal person speaks like this,” said another.
Meanwhile, back at the board meeting, chuckles could be heard among those who gathered at the newly renamed Donald J Trump Institute of Peace for the event.
Representatives from some 48 countries were there, including Pro-MAGA Argentinian President Javier Milei, Hungary’s authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
However, many of the U.S.’s closest allies, including France, Germany, and Italy, did not sign on amid concerns about its murky funding, political mandate, and the possibility that Russia could join.
To be part of the board, member nations must cough up $1 billion to secure a permanent seat. If they don’t pay, they lose their spot after three years.
Trump is also the chairman for life and can decide on executive members. Among them are his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
On Thursday, he also announced that the U.S. would be spending $10 billion on the board—but the White House has yet to explain where the funds will be drawn from.
“When you look at that compared to the cost of war, that’s two weeks of fighting; it’s a very small number. It sounds like a lot, but it’s a very small number,” Trump said.
“Totally illegal,” responded Democrat Senator Chris Murphy on X.
