As world leaders gathered in France for the G-7 summit, CNN panelists sharply criticized President Trump for multiple policy stances.
Jim Acosta, 48, who has been at odds with Trump on several occasions, indicated that the president would likely feud with French President Emmanuel Macron, who Acosta does not believe shares Trump’s opinion on nationalism. Speaking of Macron’s Nov. 11 speech in Paris to honor the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, Acosta claimed that Macron was speaking antagonistically to Trump.
“It was a very strongly worded rebuke of President Trump’s brand of populism and nationalism that has obviously swept across the United States but is now making its way across Europe,” Acosta said. “It is a very big and worrisome trend in Europe.”
Acosta then mentioned that the United Kingdom’s plan to exit the European Union was an extension of nationalist views.
“President Macron is just not on the same team as President Trump is when it comes to that issue,” he said. “He is not a protectionist; he is not a nationalist.”
The CNN personality then suggested that there would be fights between Trump and other world leaders during the summit.
“There are some elbows being thrown behind the scenes, no question about it,” he said.
Acosta lost his White House press access in November after a physical confrontation with an aide who was trying to take his microphone. He also received widespread criticism in May for misrepresenting Trump’s comments on immigration.
Trump, who was rolling out new, stricter immigration rules, said at the time, “Our nation has a proud history of affording protection to those fleeing government persecutions. Unfortunately, legitimate asylum-seekers are being displaced by those lodging frivolous claims, these are frivolous claims, to gain admission into our country.”
Acosta tweeted in response to Trump’s statement that the president accused all refugees of lying to border authorities, writing, “Trump in Rose Garden speech paints asylum seekers with broad brush accusing them of misleading immigration authorities at border: ‘These are frivolous claims.'”
Officials from the Trump administration expressed some frustration on Saturday with Macron for promoting policies that are not a priority for the president during the G-7 summit, such as gender inequality and climate change.
“It’s our view that with France trying to drive these other issues outside of global economics, national security and trade, they’re trying to fracture the G7,” the official said.
The president characterized a Saturday lunch with Macron as both amicable and successful.
“We’ve been friends for a long time. And every once in a while, we go at it just a little bit — not very much.,” Trump said. “But we get along very well. We have a very good relationship. Sort of, I think I can say, a special relationship. And I think we’ll accomplish a lot this weekend, and I look forward to it.”
