Trump blows off allies because he felt offended

June 9: On This Day In 2018

Trump was livid. Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau had insulted him, he felt, at the G7 meeting in Quebec. So OTDI 2018, Trump pulled the US out of the G7’s traditional “statement of values” and refused to sign it. The statement was hardly controversial, and indeed has formed the backbone of US-led trade and alliances for decades: “We acknowledge that free, fair and mutually beneficial trade and investment, while creating reciprocal benefits, are key engines for growth and job creation.”

But those bedrock principles of capitalism took a backseat to the personal feelings of Donald Trump. If he’s having a mopey day because he feels personally slighted, he’s willing to upend decades of friendship and the phenomenal successes shared among the G7 nations.

Trump advisor Peter Navarro diplomatically explained Trump’s feelings: "There's a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door and that's what bad faith Justin Trudeau did with that stun press conference," Navarro said, calling the communiqué "socialist."

But, admittedly, we’ve seen in several previous OTDIs (for example: Trump to World: You Can't Trust the USA and Trump Reneges on Yet Another International Agreement) that Trump repeatedly tried to pull us from international alliances and break agreements our country has made--whether or not he's feeling mopey.

"Trade tensions flare again as Trump isolates U.S. from world leaders," writes NBC.

After so many years of Pax Americana, pax has become non-Americana.   

Dive Deeper

• NBC detailed how Trump insulted Trudeau on Trudeau’s own turf

• Background hoops image

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Summary: Trump blows off our allies