Trump news – live: President skips climate meeting and launches Twitter tirade amid increasingly erratic behaviour at G7 – The Independent

Donald Trump has skipped a meeting about climate change and biodiversity attended by other world leaders at the G7 on Monday, in the latest sign that the American government does not view the global threat as a priority.

Separately, meeting German chancellor Angela Merkel, the US president claimed there was “great unity” on how to deal with the Iran crisis. Ms Merkel, however, said there was a long way to go on the issue, which has created considerable headache as tensions have flared between Tehran and Washington.

Mr Trump has also denied at the summit in France that he had suggested firing nuclear weapons at hurricanes — as was reported by Axios — and suggested his own Miami golf club for next year’s G7. He also claimed China had “called” to ask for trade talks – before a top Chinese official said he was unaware of any call.


2019-08-26T15:55:19.066Z

“Well I don’t know that he’d accept it, those are tough circumstances. He was a part of G8, and all of a sudden, he’s not in. So I think John, actually that’s a pretty tough thing for him, you know, he’s a proud person. Would I invite him, I would certainly invite him, whether or not he could come, psychologically, I think that’s a tough thing for him to do. You have a G8, and now it’s a G7, and you invite the person that was thrown our really by President Obama, and really because he got outsmarted.”


2019-08-26T15:27:59.586Z

Says he would apologise if Crimea were annexed during his presidency.

“President Obama was pure and simply outsmarted, they took Crimea during his term. … It could have been stopped, but president Obama was unable to stop it, and it’s too bad.”