After a G-7 summit which certainly did not disappoint, and as many predicted would be full of thunder and fireworks and is set to go down in the history books for the first communique that would not be endorsed by all member states since 1975 after Trump tweeted on route to Singapore that he will not endorse the final G7 statement and will look to impose tariffs on cars, potentially signalling a worsening of relations in a brewing trade war, on Sunday morning Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Sunday tore into Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau (or “Justin” as Trump calls him) for “double crossing” President Trump with critical comments about U.S. trade policy.
“He was polarizing. He really kind of stabbed us in the back, Kudlow told CNN’s State of the Union adding that Trudau “did a great disservice to the whole G7.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow says Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “stabbed us in the back” #CNNSOTU https://t.co/ASsMQJXmjn https://t.co/cpPfpwfzpz
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 10, 2018
Kudlow took issue with Trudeau’s comments at a post-summit press conference given Trump’s summit on Tuesday with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, and repeatedly called the Canadian’s actions a “betrayal.”
In a press conference after Trump departed for Singapore, Trudeau said Canada would move forward with retaliatory tariffs, saying Canada will “not be pushed around.” In response, Trump attacked Trudeau on Twitter, calling him “dishonest & weak.”
Kudlow also said Trudeau’s press conference was a “sophomoric, political stunt for domestic consumption.”
“President Trump played that process in good faith. So, I ask you: He gets up in the airplane and leaves, and then Trudeau starts blasting him at a domestic news conference? I am sorry, that’s a betrayal. That’s a double cross.”
The unexpectedly abrupt remarks from Trump’s top economic adviser about a longstanding U.S. ally were deeply unusual, and underscored the growing divide between the US and Canada.
As we noted previously, the Trump administration has blamed Canada for Trump’s decision to not sign on to a communique at the G-7 summit in Quebec, Canada, over the weekend. The president prompted concerns of a trade war after doubling down on his decision to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Canada, Mexico and European countries have vowed to implement retaliatory tariffs.
Meanwhile, earlier on Sunday Macron continued to press the point of US “isolation” from the rest of the G-7, saying Donald Trump’s isolation from the international community is “contrary to American history,” according to a tweet after end of G-7 summit.
Au #G7Charlevoix, le Président Trump a vu qu’il avait face à lui un front uni.
Se retrouver isolé dans un concert des nations est contraire à l’histoire américaine. pic.twitter.com/EnrqTkDGMS— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 9, 2018
Contuing his own tweetstorm, Macron said that Steel and aluminum imports don’t represent a threat to U.S. security, and that the European Union is “not closed” to U.S. He added that trade imbalances can’t be resolved by “fragmentation of global order,” and that the U.S. and EU should work together.
Finally, commenting on Russia, Macron said that Russia would be allowed to rejoin G-7, as suggested by Trump, only if Minsk accords on Ukraine are respected, “ball is in Russia’s court.”
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