President Donald Trump arrived at the G7 summit in Canada ready to make his voice heard. But things turned awkward pretty fast.
The summit was held in the Kananaskis region of Alberta. As the host, Carney welcomed Trump politely. He even wished him a happy birthday and said, “The G7 is nothing without U.S. leadership and so – and your personal leadership, the leadership of the United States.”
At first, things seemed friendly. However, as Trump began speaking, the meeting took a sharp turn.
Trump quickly brought up Russia. He said the G7 used to be stronger when Russia was included. “The G7 used to be the G8. Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in. And I would say that that was a mistake,” Trump said. “You wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in.”
He added, “And you wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago, but it didn’t work out that way.”
Trump’s tone was bold. His body language showed he was full of confidence. According to an expert, “He appears to be aligned with the power theme mentally too.” At one point, he even referred to himself in the third person, as if he were larger than life.
Carney, on the other hand, kept a calm distance. He smiled politely, but observers noticed the smile looked strained. His hands were behind his back. His face showed he was trying to hold back what he was really feeling.
As Trump continued, he talked about trade, the G7, and even criticized Justin Trudeau. Carney stayed quiet for most of it, but his expressions showed growing discomfort.
Then came the moment that caught everyone’s attention.
As Trump kept speaking, Carney stepped in. He lifted his hands and said, “If you don’t mind, I’m just going to exercise my role, if you will, as G7 chair since we have a few more minutes with the president and his team, and then we actually have to start the meeting to address some of these big issues.”
With that, reporters were asked to leave. The press event concluded in under eight minutes. Trump looked surprised. Carney stood firm.
Even though Carney’s words were polite, his timing said a lot. The message was clear. This was not a one-man show. The meeting was not about making speeches. It was about getting to work.
After the reporters left, Carney’s team moved forward with the G7’s main agenda.
You can watch the full exchange between Trump and Carney in the clip below.
Featured image via Screengrab
