German audience cheers when video feed of Wilbur Ross' speech is cut off
A German audience appeared to applaud and cheer as a video feed of Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross' remarks were cut off mid-speech when Ross reportedly exceeded his allotted time, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
Ross was speaking at an event in Berlin hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, and he was, according to Bloomberg, criticizing Germany's trade surplus with the U.S.
As the feed reportedly faded out after about 20 minutes of Ross speaking, attendees at the Christian Democratic Union's business conference Tuesday laughed and clapped.
"That was the U.S. secretary of commerce, who had promised us a 10-minute statement," Werner M. Bahlsen, head of the CDU Economic Council, told the audience, according to Bloomberg.
Merkel was at the event and could be seen watching the video feed from the stage. Following the abrupt end to Ross' speech, she made her own remarks to her party.
Ross' remarks come as President Trump is expected to attend the G20 summit next week in Hamburg where growing tensions over trade and climate change are expected to be discussed by world leaders.
Mr. Trump has reportedly said he is "eager" for a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladmir Putin at the summit, but many in the administration are grappling with how to maintain distance with the leader, amid continuing probes into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and possible ties to the Trump campaign.