Trump trumps the G7 agenda
What didn’t happen due to the U.S. President’s early departure
Bella Coco, News Editor
The 2025 G7 summit was held in Kananaskis from June 15-17, but not without some twists and turns. U.S. President Donald Trump left a day before the summit ended, and despite his absence, he still remained the talk of the town.
Many other world leaders attended the summit, including leaders from Mexico, India and Ukraine. With tensions brewing in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine, there was concern about how amicable the summit would be.
Each leader played nice until Trump took off back to Washington, DC, to focus on the heightening conflicts in the Middle East. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left Kananaskis shortly after, despite his hope for a meeting with the American president to take a step towards peace in Ukraine.
Talks of peace turned out to be wishful thinking.
Russia’s expulsion from what is now the G8 was also a hot topic of discussion. Russia’s membership was suspended after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Shortly after Prime Minister Mark Carney took a moment to welcome Trump to Kananaskis with birthday wishes and G7 gratitude, Trump launched into blaming former U.S. President Barack Obama and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for kicking Russia out of the G8.
“I would say that was a mistake,” Trump said. “I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia and you wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago,” Trump stated.
Trump claimed that “throwing Russia out” was a big mistake, despite not being in office when the decision was made.
In addition to missing his meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump also did not meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. The G7 offered a neutral playground of opportunity for the two leaders to meet alongside Carney, but the idea was scrapped before the summit began.
Despite the general assumption, what with Trump’s consistent criticism of Mexican immigration and early campaign promises to “build a wall”, Sheinbaum and Trump seem to have an amicable relationship with each other.
There is still yet to be chatter between them regarding Mexico’s consistent refusal to allow U.S. troops in its strategy regarding cartels and illegal drug trade and Mexico’s concern over the proposed 3.5 per cent tax on remittances—non-commercial transfers of money, often from migrant workers–going through the U.S. Senate.
Shortly after leaving the summit, Trump made the polarising decision to authorize airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities. While he was golfing in New Jersey, American stealth bombers triggered the anxious chatter of a global war.
It’s clear this G7 set a tone for what foreign policy will look like under a Trump presidency, what exactly that tone is and how world leaders will respond, remains to be seen.
