Seven world leaders are meeting in Canada for the G7 summit over the weekend, and the official group photo shows the awkwardness of the circumstances. US President Donald Trump has been escalating a trade battle by imposing punitive tariffs on the US's closest allies in Canada and the EU. The tensions have spilled over to Twitter, with Trump calling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "indignant" just hours before the summit. The G7 summit got underway on Friday under the specter of an escalating trade battle between the US and some of its longtime allies. And the traditional "family photo" — featuring UK Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte — offers a glimpse of the tension. For weeks, tensions have been bubbling over an escalating trade battle fueled by the US's imposing tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from Canada and the European Union. Other G7 leaders are expected to retaliate with their own measures. Until recently, Trump had good diplomatic relationships with Macron and Trudeau, but those connections appear to have soured in the past few weeks amid the tariffs controversy. Trudeau called the move "frankly insulting" on "Meet the Press" with Chuck Todd on Sunday. The battle has also played out on Twitter. On Thursday, Macron tweeted, "The American president may not mind being isolated, but neither do we mind signing a six-country agreement if need be." Meanwhile, Trump went after Trudeau in a series of tweets just hours before the summit on Friday. The White House also announced he would cut short his time at the two-day summit and leave on Saturday morning. Trump ruffled some feathers early Friday by suggesting Russia should be allowed back into the G7 to once again make it the G8. Russia was kicked out in 2014 over its annexation of Crimea. Every other participant disagreed with Trump's suggestion except Conte, Italy's new populist prime minister. If the photos are any indication, these diplomatic tensions aren't going away anytime soon.<doc-sep>There were hundreds, if not thousands, of photos taken at the Group of Seven summit in Quebec City this weekend, a two-day gathering of leaders from member states to discuss everything from climate change to international trade policy. But one in particular stood out after it was published Saturday and ricocheted around the Internet for its surreal composition. In the photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stands behind a long, narrow table, both hands pressed firmly into its surface atop some documents that are angled every which way. With as neutral an expression as possible, she stares directly at U.S. President Donald Trump, who sits on the other side of the divide. Is he angry? Bored? Amused? Rare is the countenance where all three are equally plausible, but here it’s difficult to say. Trump’s eyes stare blankly ahead, focused in the direction of Merkel but not quite affixed upon the German chancellor. His arms are crossed in front of his chest, revealing below them only the length and wayward tendency of his tie. Surrounding Merkel and Trump are a slew of other leaders, each with an unplaceable gaze. From his partially obscured side profile, one can only make out French President Emmanuel Macron’s furrowed forehead. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is fully visible in the frame, but his thoughts remain just as inscrutable as the others’, with his arms also crossed against his chest and his glance somewhere over Merkel’s head. To Abe’s left stands U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, the only one in the picture who looked as if he might have been in the middle of talking. If he was, though, no one appeared to be listening. Read more: Trump drops bombshell after leaving G7 summit, accusing Trudeau of ‘false statements’ Donald Trump disrupts G7 women’s empowerment session by showing up late Opinion | Tony Burman: Justin Trudeau’s G7 address to Donald Trump, uncensored The photo first appeared on Merkel’s official Instagram account around noon Saturday. “Day two of the G7 summit in Canada: spontaneous meeting between two working sessions,” part of the German leader’s caption stated in English. It was a far cry from the official photos the White House had released of Trump’s visit to the G7 Summit, which were mostly posed pictures or those that depicted Trump in a serious, commanding light. The disparity prompted some to wonder: Was Merkel — or someone on her staff — trolling the U.S. president? After all, during the summit, Trump had threatened to enact stiff penalties if other countries did not agree to dramatically reduce or end tariffs on American goods. “Well, if they retaliate, they’re making a mistake,” Trump told reporters Saturday when asked about what might happen if those countries did not agree. “We’re like the piggy bank that everybody is robbing. And that ends.” The day before, Trump had called for Russia to be reinstated to the group, despite its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region four years ago, a stance that broke with the other leaders at the gathering. As The Washington Post’s Damian Paletta, Anne Gearan and John Wagner reported Friday, Trump’s demand got the G7 summit off to an even rougher start: “This annual gathering typically is meant to display a show of unity, but Trump has forced a more combative tone, with messy public feuds breaking out over trade disputes. Most of the foreign leaders at the summit had hoped to use the meeting to confront Trump about new tariffs he is imposing on imports, but instead found themselves reacting to Trump’s Russia comments and bombastic Twitter posts. ...Even before the Russia remarks, Trump had effectively upended this year’s G7 summit by raising the prospect of refusing to sign on to a joint statement with other leaders asserting commonly shared principles and values. And after French President Emmanuel Macron said the other six nations would be willing to move on without the United States, Trump criticized him and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — threatening to impose new trade penalties and pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.” Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... TOP STORIES. IN YOUR INBOX: For the day’s top news from the Star’s award-winning journalists, sign up for our daily headlines newsletter. Some felt it was this power dynamic that Merkel’s photo perfectly captured. “Big power move from Merkel’s social media team, posting this extremely memeable picture on her Instagram,” observed freelance journalist Elena Cresci. And meme it the people did. To many, the picture was something more than “a thousand words.” It was art. “It’s got a [Norman] Rockwell quality to it,” HuffPost congressional reporter Matt Fuller tweeted. Fuller wasn’t only one who saw echoes of one of America’s preeminent early 20th-century painters and illustrators in the assortment of enigmatic facial expressions of a room full of the world’s most powerful leaders. As Trump’s body language in the photo suggests, he may not have been thrilled to be there at all, as The Post’s Paletta and Gearan reported on Saturday: “He did not back away or blunt his critiques, and despite first-name references to “Angela” and “Justin,” Trump did little to disguise his distrust of the international consensus model of world affairs that the G7 represents. ... Trump had grumbled to aides ahead of the meeting that he didn’t want to go sit through lectures from the other leaders, and he mused about sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place. He arrived to the meeting late and left early, holding a solo news conference on Saturday morning where he gave the trade ultimatum and said the size of the U.S. economy means other nations can’t win a trade war.” Trump delivered a parting shot hours after he had left the meeting, tweeting that he had directed U.S. representative not to sign the joint communique that underscored trade rules after he was angered by remarks made at a news conference by Trudeau. Read more about:<doc-sep>President Trump stoked tensions with America's most important allies during a disastrous showing at this weekend's G7 summit. Disputes over trade policy resulted in barbed public exchanges between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a pointed scolding from French President Emmanuel Macron, all sparked when Trump retroactively pulled out of a joint statement issued by summit participants. But hey, at least we got this really great photo that vividly illustrates just how strained America's alliances are. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Angela Merkel's office has released this photo taken today at the G7, which tells you a lot about how things went. pic.twitter.com/IXX6K3ayys — David Mack (@davidmackau) June 9, 2018 Just for reference, here's what the G7 looked like when Obama was in office. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Throwback to Obama at the G7 pic.twitter.com/G9vPoab3Fb — 🌊 R Saddler (@Politics_PR) June 10, 2018 Much was made on Twitter about the childish defiance of Trump's pose. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. baby go wah, want to go home !! https://t.co/CzKAqPXXgJ — chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) June 9, 2018 This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Literally EVERY image of an adult scolding a defiant and petulant child. https://t.co/YPcPPK1ZL7 — Nicholas Ferroni (@NicholasFerroni) June 9, 2018 The Group of 7 nations—the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and Italy—together represent 60% of the world's wealth and include some of America's most important allies. The group was formerly the G8, until Russia was removed in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea, a decision that Trump naturally would like to reverse. Trump, who's famously more at home with autocrats than with his democratically elected peers, entered this G7 summit on shaky footing with our allies after he announced tariffs on the EU and Canada. After summit host Trudeau held a press conference promising to retaliate against Trump's tariffs, the president issued a pair of tweets insulting the Canadian PM and pulling out of the G7's joint communique. The tensions Trump stoked at the G7 may have repercussions for his upcoming summit with Kim Jong-un. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. This is an obvious point but I haven’t seen it made yet: the G7 blowup increases the chance that Trump makes concessions so that the Kim summit looks like a success. Otherwise he’ll be 0 for 2 on this trip. — Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) June 10, 2018 But aside from the Renaissance-worthy group photo, at least the summit also gave us the latest skirmish in the Trump/Macron handshake war. Judging by the thumb print left on Trump’s hand, Macron won. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. The Trump-Macron handshake, a play in four acts pic.twitter.com/Ca6k9bigJg — Anna Massoglia (@annalecta) June 9, 2018 Gabrielle Bruney Gabrielle Bruney is a writer and editor for Esquire, where she focuses on politics and culture. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>The German government released a photo on Saturday that captured the tension between US President Donald Trump and his fellow G7 leaders at a summit this weekend. The two-day summit in Charlevoix, Quebec, ended in disarray after Trump said the US wouldn't endorse the joint communique, and insulted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The German government has distributed a photo of US President Donald Trump speaking to world leaders at the G7 summit in a stunning picture that reflects tensions between the United States and other nations at the meeting. The two-day summit in Charlevoix, Quebec, has ended in disarray with Trump refusing to endorse the joint statement from the G7 leaders and threatening further tariffs against other nations. In the picture, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seen leaning over the table speaking to Trump, and she is flanked by British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Also in the photo are Trump’s economic adviser Larry Kudlow (far left) and US National Security Adviser John Bolton (standing behind Trump.) The photo was posted on Twitter by Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert, crediting it to official German government photographer Jesco Denzel.<doc-sep>
This incredible photo from the G7 summit perfectly sums up Donald Trump and world politics It really is quite spectacular. The G7 summit took place this weekend, in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada. The annual summit sees leaders of seven of the world’s most powerful nations – the UK, the USA, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada – come together for discussion. This meant there were some pretty big characters in that room – German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British PM Theresa May, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as Europe chiefs Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker. But of course, the biggest is US President Donald Trump. We probably don’t need to tell you this, but the reality TV show judge and Fresh Prince of Bel Air guest-star appears to be a bit of a pain in the arse at meetings like this. Trump just loves withdrawing from international agreements - the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris Agreement on climate change – and he continued his track record at the G7, leaving the summit in disarray. Trump refused to endorse the communique, the G7 summit’s statement, and even went on to insult the summit’s host Justin Trudeau. He tweeted on Saturday: “Based on Justin's false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” A photo from the summit has emerged, that sums things up perfectly in one image, tweeted by Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert. Just take a look: Zweiter Tag des #G7-Gipfels in Kanada: Beratungen am Rande der offiziellen Tagesordnung #G7Charlevoix pic.twitter.com/5GiGF6zTHr — Steffen Seibert (@RegSprecher) June 9, 2018 German Chancellor Merkel stares down Trump with a frustrated look on her face, flanked by Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, and even his own financial advisor Larry Kudlow. And Trump is just shitting there with a massive shit-eating grin on his face. This is one of the best political stills I’ve ever seen.... https://t.co/ftUdQa9YSK — Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) June 9, 2018 This is a Renaissance Painting. https://t.co/vNOJOFLLTl — Pete Forester 🇺🇸 (@pete_forester) June 9, 2018 The image was captured by official German government photographer Jesco Denzel.