Australian Sixty Minutes reporter Tom Steinfort provoked a bizarre reaction from Jacinda Ardern when he asked her “do you sometimes have to bite your tongue knowing the sensitivities of the regime in Beijing?”

Ardern answered with a weird pronouncement of the word “No”, (a lie of course) and then swiveled her head rapidly in what appeared to be an attempt to seek support from the NZ press gallery or to avoid taking any further questions from the reporter. (see video below)

Mr Steinfort objected to the shortness of her response, and Ardern was then obliged to provide a more complete answer. However the initial response was weird to say the least, and would seem to indicate something went amiss in the PM’s consciousness for a short time.

Most likely it was shock. A reaction to being asked the kind of penetrating question that the sycophantic and ineffective NZ media never ask her. (Maybe they’re afraid a series of real questions might bring on a brain aneurism)

Sixty Minutes also said

Over the last month we’ve made numerous requests to interview New Zealand’s Trade Minister and Foreign Minister on their government’s ties to China but were repeatedly knocked back. Yet the Prime Minister’s office this week had the gall to claim our story would be unfair because the New Zealand government hadn’t been approached for comment.

Evasion and untruth. Sounds like Ardern’s style.

Sixty Minutes reported how the Communist Chinese propaganda paper The Global Times had dubbed the Five Eyes alliance the “axis of white supremacy”, and complimented New Zealand on charting a very positive and clear path in relation to China, “in stark contrast to Australia’s hostile actions”.

An Australian Foreign Affairs specialist then remarked “being praised by a communist propaganda rag isn’t exactly a feather in your cap“.

Hard to argue with that. Watch the video below to see Ardern’s strange reaction to Tom Steinfort’s question.