Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn’t alone in lashing out against President Trump following a tense G-7 summit in Quebec.
The Canadian leader may be the focus of a war of words with Trump, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck a harsh tone when she condemned Trump’s refusal to endorse a communique on the need for “free, fair, and mutually beneficial trade.”
She called Trump’s tweets on the matter “sobering and a bit depressing,” according to multiple reports upon the conclusion of the summit.
Merkel also said during an interview with German television broadcaster ARD the European Union was prepping retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. for Trump’s 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent penalty on aluminum imports.
Tough talk on trade was at the center of the G-7 summit, encapsulated in a photo shared by Merkel’s office on social media, which went viral, showing the German leader dominating a circle of world leaders and staring down Trump, who had his arms crossed.
Trump, during an impromptu press conference on Saturday before he departed for Singapore where he is slated to meet with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday, called for an end to all tariffs between the U.S. and its allies. But at the same time, he repeated concerns that the U.S. has been subject to unfair trade practices for years.
“It’s going to change. Tariffs will come way down. We’re like the piggy bank that everybody is robbing and that ends,” Trump said. “if they retaliate, they’re making a mistake. We have a tremendous trade imbalance. When we try to bring our piece up a little bit so it’s not so bad.”
After Trump left, Trudeau held a press conference stating that all of the member nations of the G-7, including the U.S., had signed a communique dedicated to lowering tariffs and other trade barriers. He also threatened retaliatory tariffs for those the U.S. “unjustly” slapped on Canada and emphasized that Canadians “will not be pushed around.”
Trump shot back at Trudeau on Twitter, saying, “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. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!” He also claimed to have informed U.S. officials not to affirm the communique signed by G-7 members.
Afterwards, members of Trump’s administration, including economic adviser Larry Kudlow, flooded the zone on the Sunday morning talk show circuit, accusing Trudeau of stabbing Trump in the back.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland responded to attacks on Trudeau made by Trump’s team, saying declaring “Canada does not believe that ad hominem attacks are a particularly appropriate or useful way to conduct our relations with other countries.”
The leaders from Canada and Germany weren’t the only ones taking rhetorical swings at Trump.
French President Emmanuel Macron decried “fits of anger and throwaway remarks,” which he said could not dictate international cooperation.
Trump’s attacks on U.S. allies were also criticized at home. “To our allies: bipartisan majorities of Americans remain pro-free trade, pro-globalization & supportive of alliances based on 70 years of shared values,” tweeted Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. “Americans stand with you, even if our president doesn’t.”
Also a subject of controversy was Trump saying Saturday that Russia should have been invited to the conference. Russia was removed from what had been the G-8 in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
Trump pinning blame on his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, for the Crimea annexation, earned him a sharp rebuke from Susan Rice, Obama’s former national security adviser. She told CBS that his assertion was “disgraceful.”
