‘Stabbed in the back’: Trump fury at Canada in new G7 split
The G7 summit ended in a war of words yesterday, with the US accusing Canada of ‘stabbing us in the back’.
it came after Donald trump was pictured looking defensive as several world leaders appeared to gang up on him during the conference in Canada over the weekend, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel looming over the US President.
the annual meeting of the world’s leading industrialised nations had appeared to finish on a high note, with the leaders of the US, Great Britain, Germany, France, italy, Japan and Canada agreeing on the need for free trade and the importance of fighting protectionism, as well as a demand that russia halts ‘its destabilising behaviour’.
‘It was a betrayal’
But in a subsequent press conference, Canadian Prime Minister Justin trudeau attacked the US President’s tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which critics fear will start a trade war.
Angered, Mr trump accused Mr trudeau of being ‘very dishonest and weak’ and of making ‘false statements’.
the US President also withdrew his support for the agreement in a tweet that was widely attacked, particularly by France and Germany.
larry Kudlow, Mr trump’s top economic adviser, claimed Mr trudeau ‘stabbed us in the back’, adding: ‘it was a betrayal.’
Speaking of the President’s meeting tomorrow with Kim Jong-un, he said Mr trump would not be pushed around by Canada just before meeting a ‘crazy nuclear tyrant’. He added: ‘He is not going to permit any show of weakness on the trip to negotiate with north Korea.’
But Mr Macron said: ‘international cooperation cannot be dictated by fits of anger and throwaway remarks.’