Trump misses climate meeting and says he’ll invite Putin to next G7 amid erratic behaviour at summit
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has skipped a meeting about climate change and biodiversity attended by other world leaders at the G7 on Monday, in the latest sign that the American government does not view the global threat as a priority.
Separately, meeting German chancellor Angela Merkel, the US president claimed there was “great unity” on how to deal with the Iran crisis. Ms Merkel, however, said there was a long way to go on the issue, which has created considerable headache as tensions have flared between Tehran and Washington.
The snubs came just before Mr Trump attended a joint press conference with French president Emmanuel Macron, where the two leaders claimed to have found unity on many issues — from Iranian nuclear enrichment, to trade.
Later, after Mr Macron left the stage, the American president stuck around for a few questions, where he lavished praise on Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, and at one point called himself an "environmentalist".
Mr Trump has also denied at the summit in France that he had suggested firing nuclear weapons at hurricanes — as was reported by Axios — and suggested his own Miami golf club for next year’s G7. He also claimed China had “called” to ask for trade talks – before a top Chinese official said he was unaware of any call.
Elsewhere, the 2020 Democratic primary field saw some heat, with a new poll showing Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Joe Biden all in a statistical dead heat among national voters.
The poll marked a potentially dramatic fall for Mr Biden from the top of the race, and came after Ms Warren attracted a massive crowd in Seattle — one that has received plenty of media attention for its striking visuals.
Also, Mr Trump's own party's primary field has gotten a bit tighter, with the long-shot entry of former congressman Joe Walsh, a one-time Trump supporter who claims the president has simply gotten too cozy with Russia.
The official explanation why Donald Trump skipped the big climate meeting - meetings with the leaders of Germany and India - has already been debunked by CNN’s correspondent.
Trump is not the only world leader to get into petty fights. French president Emmanuel Macron has said Brazilian women are probably ashamed of president Jair Bolsonaro – hitting back after the Brazilian leader mocked Macron’s wife on Facebook.
The leaders have been feuding in recent weeks, with Macron blaming Bolsonaro for fires in the Amazon and accusing him of lying about climate change policy.
Bolsonaro responded on Sunday to a Facebook post that compared the looks of his wife Michelle, 37, with Macron’s 66-year-old wife Brigitte.
“Do not humiliate the man hahahah,” Bolsonaro wrote, in a comment widely criticised as sexist.
Asked about the incident at a news conference in Biarritz where G7 leaders are gathered for a summit, Macron said the comments were “extremely disrespectful” to his wife.
“It’s sad, it’s sad first of all for him and for Brazilians,” Macron said. “Brazilian women are probably feeling ashamed of their president."
“Since I have a lot of esteem and respect for the people of Brazil, I hope they will very soon have a president who is up to the job,” Macron added.
Later on Monday, Bolsonaro denounced Macron’s plan for an international alliance to protect the Amazon, saying on Twitter that it would treat Brazil like a colony.
Brazil was angered after Macron, in the run up to the G7 summit, tweeted a photo of the burning Amazon forest, writing: “Our house is burning. Literally.” Macron said he had been lied to by Bolsonaro over his commitments to fighting climate change.
Emmanuel Macron has also been speaking about Donald Trump’s absence from the climate meeting, saying it wasn’t his goal to try to persuade the US president to re-join the climate accord. “You can’t rewrite the past,” Macron told reporters.
The French president said he and Trump had a “long, rich and totally positive” discussion on the Amazon fires and an international effort to invest in “re-foresting” the area.
G7 countries pledged $20 million on Monday to help fight fires in the Amazon rainforest, which threaten its ability to capture carbon released into the atmosphere by cars and other emitters. It’s a small sum overall but G7 summit host France hopes it will bring more attention to the fires.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres – who attended Monday’s climate talks – expressed hope that Americans themselves would help fight climate change even if their president doesn’t.
“I am very optimistic about American society and its capacity to deliver in relation to climate action,” he told reporters afterward.
“What matters here is to have a strong engagement of the American society and of the American business community and the American local authorities.”
Here is a readout of the meeting between Donald Trump and Angela Merkel, earlier today.
The G7 leaders are now in a closed lunch, with an as-of-yet-unscheduled press conference to come.
Today, President Donald J. Trump and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany met at the G7 Summit and discussed global and regional security challenges, particularly in Libya and the Sahel region. The President and Chancellor agreed on the importance of fostering global economic growth through free and fair trade, reduced trade barriers and regulation, and reform of the World Trade Organization. They also discussed economic issues in Europe, including a significant trade deal between the United States and the European Union, and changing China’s unfair trade practices. The President looks forward to a visit to Berlin, at the Chancellor’s invitation, at the earliest opportunity.
With Donald Trump in France today, the freshest face in the Republican primary is already feeling some heat over some past tweets.
Joe Walsh announced his bid to take on Mr Trump in 2020 just yesterday, and reporters have already pulled up this tweet of his — a racist tirade, in response to a racist remark from Mr Trump himself.
Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump are now holding a joint press conference in France.
Mr Macron is thanking all of the world leaders for a "very productive" weekend.
He also says there was a lot of "nervousness" and "tension".
Mr Macron says he was particularly concerned with portraying a "joint" and "positive" message coming out of the weekend summit.
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