- President Trump beckoned RTÉ reporter Caitriona Perry to the Truman desk as he spoke with Leo Varadkar on Tuesday
- He told the new Irish Prime Minister: 'We have a lot of beautiful Irish press in the room' before asking where Ms. Perry was from
- Trump remarked that the reporter had a 'beautiful smile on her face' and told Varadkar, Ireland's first gay prime minister, 'she must treat you well'
- US Twitter users were appalled by the remark and labeled Trump 'vile'
- Ms Perry appeared to take it in her stride and later told her own network how she managed to 'catch his eye' after being invited in to the Oval Office along with other journalists
- They are ordinarily kept outside but President Trump asked them to join him so they could hear him congratulate Taoiseach Varadkar
President Trump beckoned to an Irish journalist in the Oval Office on Tuesday to comment on her 'nice smile' during a phone call with Ireland's newly elected Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
RTÉ reporter Caitriona Perry was one of a group of reporters in the room when he made the 'bizarre' gesture.
Trump was on the phone with Varadkar, who is Ireland's first gay prime minister, to congratulate him on his recent election win when he remarked: 'Well, we have a lot of your Irish press watching us. They're just now leaving the room.
'And where are you from? Go ahead, come here. Where are you from? We have all of this beautiful Irish press. Where are you from?', beckoning to Ms. Perry.
President Trump beckoned Caitriona Perry over to the Truman desk as he spoke with Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Tuesday
The president remarked that Ms. Perry had a 'beautiful smile on her face'
He then told the Irish leader that she had a 'beautiful smile on her face' and added 'I bet she treats you well'.
As she stood awkwardly beside the desk, Ms. Perry continued smiling before gingerly making her way back to her seat.
Others in the room giggled at the president's remark.
Caitriona Perry is the Washington Correspondent and US Bureau Chief for Irish news outlet RTÉ
Finally, the president delivered a message from the Irish prime minister.
'He thanks you for the newspapers Caitriona,' he said, prompting more laughs from the room.
Perry shared a video of their encounter on Twitter afterwards, describing it as 'bizarre'.
Twitter users were quick to criticize the president's remarks.
'Ms.Perry, please accept the apology of at least 1 female American,' said one while others deemed the president 'gross'.
'We apologize that our president is a weird, inappropriate creep,' said another.
'I'm sorry our president treated you this way,' said another embarrassed US citizen.
Actor Kevin Chamberlin said: 'He called you over to look you over. Gross,' adding the hashtag 'Embarrassed for my country'.
Trump was on the phone with Leo Varadkar, 38, the youngest-ever Irish leader and the nation's first-ever gay government minister, and has Indian parentage – and isn't a fan of Trump
The outrage was of a similar tone to complaints about a 2005 recording of the president in which he boasted about 'grabbing women by the p****' while he thought he was off-camera.
I managed to catch his eye and he called me over
Critics on Tuesday also reminded their followers online of the many women who spoke out to accuse of him sexual misconduct before the election. Trump denies all of their claims.
Perry, who is married, described herself as a 'one woman newsroom' in a 2013 article. She is due to remain in the US as RTÉ's correspondent until 2018.
She appeared to take the encounter in her stride. In an interview with her own network 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.
Others in the room laughed as Ms. Perry awkwardly made her way back from the desk with her recorder taping their reactions
The journalist shared a video of the encounter on Twitter afterwards, describing it as a 'bizarre' experience
Ms. Perry was inundated with messages from critics who labeled the president's remarks 'gross'
Perry described herself in a previous interview as a 'one woman newsroom' for the Irish network. She is seen above at the Oscars earlier this year and with Bono
'When we went in he was already on the phone but I managed to catch his eye and he called me over,' she said.
Trump had been put on hold for more than a minute and a half on Tuesday, waiting for Ireland's new prime minister to get on the phone and receive his congratulations.
Varadkar, 38, eventually picked up.
But the president was left fidgeting with papers, and intermittently smiling and grimacing at an Oval Office full of reporters who were brought in to witness the call.
Trump wasn't the first foreign leader to reach him: French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel all beat him to it in the two weeks since Varadkar took office.
But the U.S. president cranked up the small talk just the same, offering 'congratulations on your great victory.
'We have so many people from Ireland in this country. I know so many of them. I feel I know all of them. But I just wanted to congratulate you.
'That was a great victory that you had.'
Varadkar – Ireland's youngest-ever leader, its first openly gay government minister and the first of Indian heritage – has indicated that he's not a regular passenger on the Trump Train.
Trump was left twisting in the wind as Varadkar left him on hold for a minute and a half before a congratulatory phone call
Eventually the U.S. president made his diplomatic connection and cranked up the small talk before reporters were hustled out of the Oval Office
He said in February that he 'wouldn't be keen' on inviting Trump to Dublin for a visit if he ran the Emerald Isle.
'I wouldn't,' he previously told RTÉ Television. 'I'm not sure what purpose it would serve.'
A month later at the White House, his predecessor Enda Kenny did just that, extending an official invitation for a state visit.
'I will not, of course, rescind that invitation,' Varadkar said last week, calling the idea 'inappropriate' and saying it could spark a 'diplomatic incident.'
Trump has been a firm friend to the Irish since his inauguration. He was enthusiastically welcoming to Varadkar's predecessor Enda Kenny earlier this year, inviting him to Washington DC for a state visit which coincided with St. Patrick's Day.
He seemed sympathetic to Kenny's plea for him to pardon the tens of thousands of undocumented Irish workers who currently live in the US illegally.
The president's ties with Ireland also predate his political career. In 2002, Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Ireland opened in Doonbeg.
Varadkar's predecessor Enda Kenny (right) invited Trump for a state visit when the two men met in March, but the new PM indicated that's a step he would never have taken
A FITNESS FREAK WHO WORKS 21 HOURS A DAY AND WOULD LOVE TO HAVE DINNER WITH BILL CLINTON
Caitríona Perry is an award-winning Irish journalist
Caitríona Perry is an award-winning Irish journalist who landed her 'dream job' as RTE's Washington Correspondent in 2013.
She may not be a household name (until now), but she has worked as a news anchor, presenter, producer and programme editor in a long and illustrious career.
Perry has an Undergraduate Degree in Journalism (2002) and a Masters Degree in International Relations (2010), both awarded by Dublin City University.
The award-winning journalist, who lists Terry's Chocolate Orange as one of her guilty pleasures, was already familiar with the US having spent time in Boston as part of her journalism.
Originally from Knocklyon in Dublin, she now lives in downtown DC with her husband and has covered everything from the Boston bombings anniversaries to the Oscars.
In a candid interview with the Evoke website last year, she told how her 'mad' schedule sees her flit between four or five states in a single week.
In the same interview, she described herself as a 'one woman newsroom' who works 21 hours a day.
Despite her hectic schedule, Perry is a self-confessed fitness freak whose personal best Marathon time is an impressive four hours, six minutes.
Originally from Knocklyon in Dublin, Perry now lives in downtown DC with her husband
'I'm always on the go,' she told the Irish Examiner. 'I also do swimming and cycling, Pilates, yoga and a bit of weight training.'
Her dream of inviting Bill Clinton to her 'dream dinner party' may be closer to reality after the footage of her being called over by President Trump went viral.
The other invitees on her fantasy list included director Steven Spielberg and actor Daniel Day Lewis.
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