President Obama Offers the 'APEC Hottie' Words of Wisdom

Obama tells Canadian PM Justin Trudeau to dye his hair.

ByABC News
November 19, 2015, 5:26 PM
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama deliver remarks to reporters after their bilateral meeting alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Manila, Philippines, Nov. 19, 2015.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama deliver remarks to reporters after their bilateral meeting alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Manila, Philippines, Nov. 19, 2015.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

— -- While serious discussions about defense and global trade occurred at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila, chatter of a different sort was also making headlines.

Alongside APEC stories about diplomatic responses to the Paris attacks and maritime security were headlines such as "Girls only have eyes for Trudeau, Nieto” and "'He held my hand!' Prime Minister Selfie gets mobbed by shrieking fans on his way out of Manila.”

The newly-elected Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau was met by throngs of fans during his diplomatic debut at both the G-20 and APEC economic summits -- a rockstar reception for an otherwise buttoned up crowd of politicians.

The Twitter hashtag #APEChottie began trending with the appearance of the 43-year-old Canadian political star, who alongside Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto received comparisons to Disney princes.

President Obama, himself no stranger to international flattery, recounted his first conversation with Trudeau during their bilateral meeting in Manila.

“The first call I made to him I said, ‘Justin, congratulations. You and your family look great,” Obama said.

Back in 2009, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were also greeted by rapturous crowds during their diplomatic debut, the couple receiving comparisons to President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline.

Now, a few hairs grayer, Obama gave the young #APEChottie Trudeau some advice from experience.

"I just want to point out that I had no grey hair when I was in your shoes seven years ago. And so if you don't want to grey like me, you need to start dying it soon because it gets too late."

Trudeau -- who has embraced the attention as a way to highlight Canadian issues -- chuckled at Obama's advice.

"So young and yet so cynical," Trudeau said.