President Donald Trump’s arrival at the French spa resort Évian-les-Bains for a summit of top world leaders may be met with a stormy atmosphere. Trump has repeatedly insulted most of his Group of 7 counterparts over the last several months, reopening old grudges and igniting new feuds with leaders he once seemed to respect.
Complicated Relationships
The root of his latest ire has been the leaders’ unwillingness to join in the US-Israeli war against Iran. Trump has known French President Emmanuel Macron, the host of this year’s summit, the longest. As such, their relationship seems to be the most complicated: one day, a nod of respect; the next, a jab about Macron’s marriage.
Things seemed to get off to a good start last year between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, at least compared to the acrid relationship Trump had with Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau. But disputes over trade and a forceful speech Carney delivered earlier this year in Davos led Trump to change his view, and he’s lately taken to calling the leader ‘Governor Carney,’ a nod to the president’s threat to make Canada the 51st US state.
European Leaders
Perhaps no leader in Europe has spent more time attempting to cultivate Trump than British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. For much of last year, it seemed to work. But Starmer’s unwillingness to support Trump’s war with Iran caused the relationship to deteriorate, and now Trump dismisses the prime minister as ‘no Winston Churchill.’ German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a good first impression when he arrived at the White House carrying the birth certificate of Trump’s German-born grandfather.
Even the European leader most aligned with Trump — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — could not escape the president’s frustrations earlier this year after she declined to participate in the war with Iran. Later, she called Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo XIV ‘unacceptable.’ Trump lashed out at her, proving even a staunch ally like Meloni could not escape his anger.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
