Tag: Justin Trudeau

Biden holds first bilateral meeting with a world leader, a virtual session with Trudeau

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President Biden held his first bilateral meeting with a world leader, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on Tuesday. In the virtual session, the two discussed the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and refugees. “Our nations share close geography and history that will forever bind us together. But our values are even more consequential,” Biden said in remarks after the session.

Trudeau welcomed the change in Washington with a tacit swipe at former president Donald Trump. “U.S. leadership has been sorely missed over the past years,” Trudeau said during the meeting.

Earlier in the day, the Senate held its first hearing examining breakdowns in intelligence gathering and security preparations surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of Trump. An FBI warning of potential violence reached the U.S. Capitol Police on the eve of the assault, but top leaders testified during a Senate hearing that they did not see it. Continue reading.

Trump Questions Render Canada Prime Minister Trudeau Speechless for 21 Seconds

TORONTO, CANADA — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that Canadians are watching what’s unfolding in the United States with “horror and consternation” and he paused for 21 seconds when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump and the use of tear gas against protesters to clear the way for a photo opportunity.

Trudeau has long been careful not to criticize Trump as Canada relies on the U.S. for 75 percent of exports. But Trudeau, who is usually quick to answer, paused and struggled to come up with the right words when asked about Trump calling for military action against protesters and the use of tear gas for a photo opportunity.

The prime minister avoided mentioning Trump directly. Continue reading.

Trump Refuses to Sign G-7 Statement and Calls Trudeau ‘Weak’ Video

The following article by Michael D. Shear and Catherine Porter was posted on the New York Times website June 9, 2018:

At the meeting of the Group of 7 nations on Saturday, President Trump threatened to end trade with countries he says follow unfair trade practices and displayed confidence about the upcoming talks with North Korea.Published OnJune 9, 2018CreditImage by Doug Mills/The New York Times

QUEBEC CITY — President Trump upended two days of global economic diplomacy late Saturday, refusing to sign a joint statement with America’s allies, threatening to escalate his trade war on the country’s neighbors and deriding Canada’s prime minister as “very dishonest and weak.”

In a remarkable pair of acrimony-laced tweets from aboard Air Force One as he flew away from the Group of 7 summit toward a meeting with North Korea’s leader, Mr. Trump lashed out at Justin Trudeau. He accused the prime minister, who hosted the seven-nation gathering, of making false statements. Continue reading “Trump Refuses to Sign G-7 Statement and Calls Trudeau ‘Weak’ Video”

Body language: Photo of Merkel, Trump captures G-7 tensions

The following article by David McHugh was posted on the Associated Press website June 10, 2018:

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — One viral photo is telling it all about tensions at the G-7 summit.

A picture of U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel displaying less-than-friendly body language is turning out to be a defining image of the contentious meeting of the Group of Seven leaders of the world’s advanced economies. Continue reading “Body language: Photo of Merkel, Trump captures G-7 tensions”

Trump removes U.S. from G-7 joint statement over escalating feud with Canada’s Trudeau

The following article by Damian Paletta and Anne Gearan was posted on the Washington Post website June 9, 2018:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office posted a photo from the Group of Seven meeting in Quebec City on June 9. It quickly went viral. (Elyse Samuels /The Washington Post)

QUEBEC CITY — President Trump feuded with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and threatened to impose penalties on foreign automobile imports Saturday, capping an acrimonious meeting of the Group of Seven industrial nations that further frayed ties between the United States and its closest allies.

Trump said Saturday evening that he had instructed U.S. officials to withdraw support for a joint statement with other member nations he had backed just hours earlier, saying the United States would not join after Trudeau publicly criticized Trump’s trade policy. Continue reading “Trump removes U.S. from G-7 joint statement over escalating feud with Canada’s Trudeau”

‘Didn’t You Guys Burn Down the White House?’ President Trump Fumbles in Phone Call With Justin Trudeau

The following article by Eli Meixler was posted on the Time website June 7, 2018:

Credit Doug Mills, The New York Times

President Trump seems to have fumbled on historical accuracy during a fraught phone call about trade with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau late last month, reportedly asking his northern counterpart, “Didn’t you guys burn down the White House?”

CNN reports that sources familiar with the conversation said Trump was responding to Trudeau’s query over how trade tariffs could be justified as a “national security” issue. Canadian broadcaster CBC also confirmed that the conversation took place.

But Trump’s quip, an apparent reference to the War of 1812, was erroneous; it was in fact the British who set the residence and other sites ablaze in 1814, in retaliation for an American attack on York, Ontario, which at the time was a British colony. Canada did not become a nation until 1867.

The May 25 phone call reportedly took on a contentious tone as the two North American leaders discussed Trump’s new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the E.U. The administration premised the tariffs on a little-used trade statute pertaining to threats to national security. Continue reading “‘Didn’t You Guys Burn Down the White House?’ President Trump Fumbles in Phone Call With Justin Trudeau”

In fundraising speech, Trump says he made up trade claim in meeting with Justin Trudeau

The following article by Josh Dawsey, Damian Paletta and Erica Werner was posted on the Washington Post website March 15, 2018:

President Trump said he made up trade information during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Here’s how the two have interacted. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

President Trump boasted in a fundraising speech Wednesday that he made up information in a meeting with the leader of a top U.S. ally, saying he insisted to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the United States runs a trade deficit with its neighbor to the north without knowing whether that was true.

“Trudeau came to see me. He’s a good guy, Justin. He said, ‘No, no, we have no trade deficit with you, we have none. Donald, please,’ ” Trump said, mimicking Trudeau, according to audio of the private event in Missouri obtained by The Washington Post. “Nice guy, good-looking guy, comes in — ‘Donald, we have no trade deficit.’ He’s very proud because everybody else, you know, we’re getting killed. Continue reading “In fundraising speech, Trump says he made up trade claim in meeting with Justin Trudeau”