This weekend’s G7 summit meeting saw US President Trump come to loggerheads with key US trade allies, with Trump fleeing the summit early amidst criticism for his trade tactics. The US was joined by leadership from France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the UK while Canada played host. The “G6 + 1”, referring to the US’ distanced presence under Trump’s leadership, saw leaders from the other six nations within the Group of Seven approach Trump with key facts and figures about trade, urging him to drop his current stance on trade tariffs, which only saw the President of the United States skip out on the second day of summit meetings. Trump also withdrew his signature from the summit’s G7 communique that saw all of the other member nations agree that their goal should be focused on fair and balanced trade.
Trump’s signature withdrawal followed a fast Tweet tirade from Trump aboard Air Force One, en route to the Trump-Kim North Korea summit due to begin on June 12th, and Trump’s chosen explanation for his day-early departure from the G7 summit. Trump lashed out over Twitter, accusing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being “weak” and “dishonest” for stating that Canada would not be pushed around by Trump’s trade rhetoric and ad hominem attack statements in a press conference following Trump’s early departure. Trump’s vehement doubling-down on his stance has drawn harsh criticism from the other G7 members as the POTUS heads to Singapore three days early for the North Korea summit he has been quoted as saying he “doesn’t need to prepare for”.
On Saturday President Trump suggested that Russia be added back into the Group of Seven in an apparent effort to build good faith with the country that was ejected from the formerly-named Group of Eight following Russia’s military annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russia was originally ejected from the G8 under former President Barack Obama’s stewardship, and Donald Trump criticized Obama in 2014 for ‘not doing enough to punish Russia for their actions’. Trump has apparently reversed his stance on the situation, and nominated Russia to be brought back into the fold, a move that was thoroughly rejected by the other six nations.
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