Trump throws G-7 into disarray – again, with tweets

It took just two tweets by U.S. President Donald Trump to shatter what seemed like a fragile consensus reached by G7 leaders after tense talks at their Quebec summit this weekend and raise the spectre of an all-out trade war with Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.

CBC said the tweets, sent as Trump was en route to Singapore for his summit with North Korea, were personal and aimed squarely at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Just moments after the official joint communiqué was released outlining 28 areas of agreement by all seven nations — with a few exceptions — Trump tweeted he was instructing his officials to withdraw support for the communiqué.

And he had suggested more dire consequences were to come.

“I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” Trump tweeted.

In a second tweet, Trump said his ire was prompted by Trudeau’s comments at his closing news conference.

“PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, “US Tariffs were kind of insulting” and he “will not be pushed around.” Very dishonest & weak,” Trump tweeted.

CBC said it is unclear if Trump’s tweet will have any meaningful impact — the U.S. had already endorsed the communiqué hours earlier before Trump left for Asia — beyond further fraying relations between the two countries and threatening the legacy of Trudeau’s time as host of the summit. A report from the pool travelling with Trump said there had been no indication of a withdrawal from the G7 communiqué, CBC said. 

CBC said a  spokesperson for Trudeau responded to Trump’s tweets by saying the government remained focused on “everything we accomplished here at the summit.”

“The prime minister said nothing he hasn’t said before — both in public, and in private conversations with the President,” Cameron Ahmad tweeted, according to CBC.