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.
Donald Trump has claimed Chinese officials had “called” US trade counterparts overnight and offered to return to the negotiating table.
But China’s foreign ministry said there were not aware of any such call taking place.
Vice Premier Liu He, who has been leading the talks with Washington, said on Monday China was willing to resolve the trade dispute through “calm” negotiations and resolutely opposed the escalation of the conflict.
“They want calm, and that’s a great thing, frankly,” said Trump. “And one of the reasons that he’s a great leader, President Xi, and one of the reasons that China’s a great country is they understand how life works,” Trump said.
“China called last night our top trade people and said ‘Let’s get back to the table’, so we’ll be getting back to the table, and I think they want to do something,” he said.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he had not heard that a phone call between the two sides had taken place. However, China’s commerce ministry typically releases statements on trade calls. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Donald Trump had a very busy time on Twitter last night and early this morning.
In a series of erratic posts, the president attacked the news media and denied suggesting nuclear weapons could be fired at a hurricane, claimed the stock market would have crashed had Hillary Clinton won, retweeted far-right agitator Katie Hopkins and a post claiming Justin Trudeau had assumed a “submissive position” during their G7 meeting.
Donald Trump has suggested his personal golf resort in Miami as the likely venue for next year’s G7 summit.
The president said it was the perfect city for the next summit. “It’s one of the biggest airports, takes planes from everywhere.”
When asked if it would be held at the Trump National Doral Miami, an 800-acre golf resort located less than five miles from the airport, the president said it was a strong contender.
“They love the location of the hotel,” he said. “We haven’t found anything that’s even close to competing with it.”
Donald Trump has speaking alongside Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
The president said India and Pakistan could handle their dispute over Kashmir on their own, but he was there should they need him.
He was also asked about missing the G7’s climate session, among other things.
US officials have brought up the idea of inviting Vladimir Putin to next year’s G7 conference (which might just take place at a Trump golf resort in Miami).
Although the idea was reportedly rebuffed by Angela Merkel and others, Trump has claimed inviting Putin would be “good for everybody”.
Donald Trump has been talking about Afghanistan. He said the US was now “a peacekeeping force” before claiming he could ramp up military action and “win” the conflict against militants.
“We could win the war in a very short period of time, but I’m not looking to kill 10 million people.”
He said US officials were “working along with the Taliban, with the government and other people too”, but there was no timeline for action or resolution.
It’s the second time in less than a week that Trump has mused aloud about not wanting to “kill 10 million people” in Afghanistan.
According to the White House, a senior member of The Trump administration stood in for the president at the crucial G7 climate meeting.
The context for Donald Trump’s remarks on Afghanistan is that US and Taliban negotiators are pushing to wrap up talks aimed at securing the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.
But disagreement remains about whether a pact will mean an end to the insurgents’ fight with the US-backed Afghan government.
There are fears among Afghan officials and US national security aides that a US troop withdrawal could see Afghanistan plunged into a new round of civil war that could herald a return of Taliban rule and international militants, including Isis, finding a refuge.
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