Leaked footage shows Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull mocking President Donald Trump, parodying his style and referencing the ongoing probe into possible ties between Trump's campaign and Russian officials.
Turnbull's comments came Wednesday night during a closed-door event, where he spoke before lawmakers and journalists at Australia's equivalent of the White House correspondent's dinner, Bloomberg reports. A local television station broadcast parts of the prime minister's remarks.
Turnbull joked about Trump and online opinion polls, saying, "They are so easy to win. I have this Russian guy—believe me, it's true, it's true."
Turnbull and his party are trailing in the polls, a fact he used to poke fun at Trump.
"The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls. We are winning so much. We are winning like we have never won before. We are winning in the polls. We are, we are. Not the fake polls, not the fake polls," he said.
"We're winning in the real polls. You know, the online polls. They are so easy to win. I know that, did you know that? I kind of know that," Turnbull said.
The Australian prime minister has clashed with Trump in what was reported to be a heated phone call between the two in the early days of Trump's presidency. Their conflict centered around a promise from the Obama administration to resettle refugees being held by Australia at offshore detention sites.
The two eventually patched things up at a meeting in May. Turnbull made light of the meeting during his speech, saying it "was beautiful; it was the most beautiful putting-me-at-ease ever."
Turnbull downplayed the significance of the speech, calling it "affectionately light-hearted."
"It was good natured and the brunt of my jokes was myself," he said in a Thursday radio interview.