How does President Donald Trump embarrass America on the world鈥檚 stage? Let us count the ways.
Trump鈥檚 remarks at the G7 summit last week were historically inaccurate, self-serving and wholly disrespectful to those members who, up until five months ago, were our allies. His remarks were also an embarrassment to his own country.
The Group of Seven is a bloc of industrialized democracies 鈥 the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom 鈥 that meets annually to coordinate global economic policy and address other transnational issues. This year鈥檚 summit was held in Alberta, Canada.
On Monday, while standing next to host Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump had the following to say during opening remarks:
鈥淭he G7 used to be the G8. Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn鈥檛 want to have Russia in and I would say that was a mistake because you wouldn鈥檛 have a war right now (in Ukraine) if you had Russia in and you wouldn鈥檛 have a war if Trump were president four years ago. ... They threw Russia out, which I claimed was a very big mistake, and I was very loud about it ... You spend so much time talking about Russia, he鈥檚 no longer at the table so it makes life more complicated, but you wouldn鈥檛 have had the war. And uh, other than that, I think we are going to accomplish a lot.鈥
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Trump added later in the day that he would be open to China joining the G7 鈥渋f someone wants to suggest鈥 it.
Let鈥檚 break down the quote:
1. Trump refers to former President Barack Obama by just his name, without giving him the respect of the title of the office that Trump once again holds.
2. Trump references 鈥渁 person named Trudeau,鈥 which is both disrespectful and inaccurate. Justin Trudeau served from 2015 to 2025 as prime minister of the country Trump was standing in. Conservative Stephen Harper was prime minister of Canada at the time of Russia鈥檚 expulsion from the G8 in 2014.
3. Technically the Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014, three years before Trump鈥檚 first administration, after Russia occupied and annexed Crimea from Ukraine 鈥 which was why it was 鈥渢hrown out鈥 of the G8.
4. During his 2024 campaign, Trump frequently claimed he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. He described it as an 鈥渆asy negotiation鈥 that would lead to a 鈥減eace between them鈥 within a day, if he were back in the White House. But since Trump returned to office in January, tensions between the two countries have escalated further.
5. Trump鈥檚 complaint that 鈥渉e鈥檚鈥 no longer at the table presumably referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin 鈥 who has declined to personally attend ceasefire talks despite initially calling for them.
6. As for accomplishing 鈥渁 lot,鈥 Trump left the G7 summit a day early, citing the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. Yet he initially declined to sign onto the joint statement by the other G7 leaders calling for a de-escalation of the tensions in that conflict, though he later did.
7. China is not an industrialized democracy and so would not meet the qualifications for membership into the G7, even 鈥渋f someone wants to suggest鈥 it.
Even before last week鈥檚 summit, the other six countries were weary, to say the least, of Trump. CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten reported on polling data showing Germany had the least confidence in Trump of the six other G7 member nations, with 81% of Germans saying they had no confidence Trump would do the right thing on world affairs. The polling showed France with 78% having no confidence, Canada at 77%, Italy at 68%, the UK at 62%, and Japan with 61%.
While fact-checking does not seem to change the narrative for many Americans anymore regarding Trump, the rest of the world is watching 鈥 and rolling their eyes.
