Featured Image Credit: KENNY HOLSTON / Contributor via Getty
There are few things more jeopardizing for a politician than a hot mic moment, as while sometimes it can offer mere embarrassment, other times it can expose major movements that threaten to plunge the world into chaos.
Microphones have a tendency to pick up things that some people would rather be left unheard, and that's especially the case for some of history's most powerful political leaders who have been caught out by a listening device they didn't expect.
U.S. President Donald Trump is certainly no stranger to the hot mic – as last year he was caught remarking on a 'crazy' deal with Putin in the middle of a meeting with Ukrainian president Zelenskyy – but it's happened again this week during the chief of state's visit to China.
Following important talks in Beijing regarding some of the world's most pressing issues, a hot mic appeared to catch wind of a clash, and it wasn't between the two historic rival nations.
Instead, camera crews appears to be caught in an scuffle as equipment was knocked to the floor, with one voice audibly heard shouting "get the f*** out of here" in response to the commotion.
That's far from the worst hot mic moment in political history though, as everyone from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama has been caught when they least expected it, as shared by the BBC.
Even politicians aren't immune to a bit of gossip, and the serious setting of a G20 meeting in France wasn't spared from the deriding comments of two extremely powerful figures in U.S. and French presidents Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy.
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Speaking about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sarkozy was heard remarking: "I can't stand him any more, he's a liar."
Obama appeared to agree with the sentiment too, adding his own remorse by arguing: "You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him every day."
The moment itself appeared to be caught by translators who were instructed not to plug in their microphones until the conversation between leaders had reached its conclusion, but at least one didn't listen leading to this major hot mic moment.
Snarky comments aren't just reserved for fellow political figures either, as Labour leader and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown found out when his remarks about a member of the public were exposed.
After having a conversation with a woman about immigration, Brown started speaking to a nearby aide without realizing that he still had a microphone from Sky News pinned to his chest.
He declared that the conversation "was a disaster" and that he regretted being paired with the woman in question, clarifying afterwards exactly what went wrong in his eyes:
"Ugh, everything! She's just a sort of bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour. I mean it's just ridiculous."
As expected, Brown apologized publicly and personally to the woman he spoke about, but he'll definitely have been more considerate of when he's wearing a microphone after that mishap.
Perhaps less inflammatory than the previous hot mic moments, but an opening exchange between U.S. President George Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair left the former the subject of ridicule across the world.
Greeting his British equivalent at a G8 Summit in St Petersberg, Bush appeared to remark, "Yo, Blair, how are you doing?"
A relatively normal greeting for the average American at the time, but it was deemed unprofessional for a major political leader — even though some argued that he was simply saying 'yeah' instead of 'yo'.
Living through over five years of Trump now has led most Americans to not be surprised by anything that comes our of a political figure's mouth, yet swearing and expletives appear to still be completely off the cards as Joe Biden learned back when he was the Vice President.
Introducing President Obama during a health care bill signing ceremony in 2012, Biden was heard clearly turning to his friend and running mate and remarking that "this is a big f***ing deal," something that was backed up gingerly by the White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs at the time.
It would be surprising if any hot mic moment in the future has quite the same impact as one catastrophic slip from Ronald Reagan, however, as it could have plunged the world into nuclear destruction if things had been taken with greater seriousness.
Speaking during a soundcheck before his weekly radio address, sound engineers working for NPR Radio captured footage of the president joking about an attack on Russia, although without that context it was understandably a far more serious affair.
"My fellow Americans. I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever," Reagan said facetiously, adding that "we begin bombing in five minutes."
Leaks exposed these comments to the wider world, resulting in increased security and a high alert status for the Soviet Union, but at least it didn't draw any actual aggression from across the world.
