U.S. Thinks Macron Twisting G-7 to Hurt Trump, Win Favor at Home
U.S. officials charged that Emmanuel Macron is splicing this weekend’s G-7 meeting into niche issues designed to isolate and embarrass President Donald Trump, in what they say is a bid by the French president to boost his support at home. Trump arrived in Biarritz, France, on Saturday and swiftly met with Macron over an impromptu lunch, with Trump saying, "Everybody’s getting along." But behind the scenes, U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity say ties have been strained in the run-up to the summit.
Macron has built the agenda around a series of issues, such as climate change and inequality between allies, that U.S. officials say strays from the G-7’s founding nature as an economic bloc and are instead designed to play to Macron’s base. One French official in Macron’s office pushed back on the U.S. criticism, saying the very first session is on the trade, economy and security -- exactly what Trump’s team says it wants to discuss -- and has been planned that way for weeks. France, too, believes these issues are the top priority of the global summit.
As for whether a discussion of climate might embarrass Trump - who has pulled out of the Paris climate accord -- this official said the summit must confront the climate crisis head on because it’s too great an issue to be ignored, just to appease Trump.
The U.S. officials are concerned that the G-7, which the U.S. will host next year, is losing relevance and increasingly preoccupied by what the U.S. considers niche issues. Washington will try to steer talks over the summit to Trump’s economic success when it hosts the event, the officials said.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-24/u-s-thinks-macron-twisting-g-7-to-hurt-trump-win-favor-at-home?srnd=premium
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Who in the Hell would want to come here to kiss Trump's ass?
Macron is not trying to hurt Chump, he's spent all summer establishing objectives for this important meeting. Chump has done nothing but trash it or ignore it, he's certainly not going to support unity of the economic leaders. Now Chump is projecting his own evil intentions onto Macron and the other leaders.
