Moment Trump begs staff not to abandon him during odd White House exchange

Donald Trump was caught in a bizarre White House moment when he begged his press secretary not to "leave" him - after Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán interrupted their meeting to offer her a job. The 79-year-old president was seated beside Orbán for a bilateral lunch meeting in the Cabinet Room when he called out to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to help him handle a question about affordability - only to realise she wasn't there.

The 47th President was hoping to rebuke a reporter for posing what he characterised as a "fake, disgusting" question about affordability in the U.S., accusing the journalist of peddling fake news. "In fact, I'd like to ask Karoline. I'd like to ask Karoline a question. Where is she?" Trump said, glancing around in confusion. When there was no answer, he laughed awkwardly: "Did she, uh oh, she deserted us. She deserted me. Our great Karoline superstar deserted me."

Moments later, Leavitt, who had been waiting just outside the room, re-entered to back up her boss. As she took her place beside the president, Trump motioned for her to respond to the question.

She immediately took on the press, slamming: "The reason I don't want to talk about affordability is because everybody knows that it's far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden, and the prices are way down," Karoline declared.

The fiery spokesperson, known for her rapid-fire delivery, said: "Affordability is what the American people elected this president to do, and he is doing it.

"He signed the largest middle-class tax cut in six months," Leavitt added.

Leavitt went on to accuse the media of refusing to report the truth, arguing Trump had inherited the "worst inflation crisis in modern American history" and had been "working on affordability every day".

As she finished her defence, Trump smiled proudly and told the room: "That's what I'm talking about right now."

The president has frequently praised Leavitt - the youngest person ever to hold her position - calling her a "superstar" with what he once affectionately described as "machine gun lips" for her fast-paced style at the podium.

But it was Orbán who delivered the moment of the day when he interrupted Trump to make his own offer. Grinning, the Hungarian leader turned to Trump and quipped that he wanted her to work for him in Budapest.

"Sure," Trump replied amid laughter. "Karoline, the prime minister would like for you to work for him in Hungary."

Orbán urged her to "consider it," prompting Trump to theatrically beg: "Please don't leave us, Karoline."

During the visit, Orban aims to persuade Trump to exempt Budapest from sanctions imposed on two Russian oil companies, which the prime minister labelled as a "mistake."

Trump indicated that Hungary shouldn't be hit with secondary sanctions for purchasing oil from Russia, unlike other European nations, because he argued it's "very difficult" for Hungary to "get the oil and gas from other areas."