Slip-ups From World Heads of State When They Think They're in Private

This week, Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto thought he was having a private conversation with American leader Donald Trump during Middle East peace talks in Egypt.

However, a live microphone situation revealed Prabowo asking Trump to organize a meeting with his son Don Jr, both of whom hold positions at the family business.

It represented only one in a series of gaffes committed by international figures when they assume they're off the record.

Here are several additional noteworthy errors:

Transplant Procedures and Everlasting Life

During a defense ceremony in Beijing in early autumn, China's leader Xi Jinping and Russia's head Vladimir Putin were overheard talking about organ transplants as a approach for extending lifespan.

"Vital organs can be repeatedly transplanted. The more you extend your life, the younger you become, and it's possible to even achieve immortality," Putin's interpreter was recorded stating.

Xi, who was off camera, responded in Chinese: "Experts forecast that in this century humans may live to 150 years old."

A conversation heard between China's leader Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin

'Sea Rising at Your Door'

Ex-Australia border protection chief Peter Dutton came under fire in 2015 when he joked about the situation of residents in the Pacific facing ocean encroachment.

Dutton was conversing with then-prime minister Tony Abbott, who had just returned from environmental talks with regional heads in Port Moresby.

Observing how a migration discussion was running on "delayed schedule", Abbott responded: "We had a bit of that up in Port Moresby."

Dutton added: "Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door."

The comments provoked anger from Pacific Islands and environmentalists, while the political opponents demanded Dutton to issue an apology.

Peter Dutton overheard joking with Tony Abbott about rising sea levels

'Bigoted Woman'

As Labour prime minister Gordon Brown was on the trail in 2010, he faced a voter who questioned him on migration and the economic situation.

Still wired up to a broadcast microphone when he got into his vehicle, Brown was heard saying: "That went terribly – they should not have placed me with that woman. Who thought of that? Absurd."

When questioned about she had said, he answered: "All topics, she was just a bigoted woman."

The scandal received extensive coverage for an extended period and Brown went on to lose the political race.

'I Can't Stand Netanyahu. He Lies.'

Former US president Barack Obama was in conversation at the G20 summit in Cannes in 2011 with then French president Nicolas Sarkozy when their comments about Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu were captured by a active recording device.

Sarkozy said: "I can't stand Netanyahu. He's a liar."

According to a version from a French interpreter quoted by Reuters, Obama replied: "You've had enough but I must work with him more often than you."

'Total ***hole'

A classic recording incident from former White House hopeful George W. Bush happened as he made a negative comment about a reporter from The New York Times.

The GOP candidate was didn't realize that a recording device was active when he leaned over to Dick Cheney at a Labor Day rally and said, "There's Adam Clymer, major league asshole from the New York Times."

Cheney responded: "Absolutely, that's true, definitely."

Bush at a political gathering in 2000
Traci Sweeney
Traci Sweeney

A passionate writer and tech enthusiast with a background in digital media, dedicated to sharing valuable insights and trends.