Donald Trump has been slammed for issuing a ‘psychopathic’ statement on why he left the G7 summit in Canada a day early.
The Group of Seven, a bloc made up of leaders from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK, have met up every year for the past five decades to discuss global economic governance and international security.
It’s a pretty big deal – so when the US president skipped out on the summit in Canada a day early on Monday (June 16), it made international headlines.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Trump would be making his way back home after an official dinner with G7 leaders on Monday night but didn’t reveal why.
“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,” she announced on Twitter.
Trump attended the G7 Leaders’ Summit briefly before his sudden departure (Stefan Rousseau-Pool/Getty Images)
The POTUS said he informed the summit host, Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney, of his early departure and that the group would understand.
“I have to be back as soon as I can,” he said. “I wish I could stay until tomorrow, but they understand, this is big stuff,” reports The Guardian.
His retreat meant he declined to participate in a joint G7 statement where leaders of the nations called for a ‘de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.’
While the statement stopped short at calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, Trump signed off on the statement and urged residents in Iran’s capital, Tehran, to evacuate in a social media post before his departure.
Israel has been conducting strikes in Tehran since Thursday night, which so far has gone on without US involvement.
Now, the president is being accused of making a ‘psychopathic’ statement on Truth Social about his premature exit where he criticised the French president.
Trump left the summit early for reasons he has not fully explained (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Trump wrote: “Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a ‘cease fire’ between Israel and Iran. Wrong!
“He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay Tuned!”
Dozens have since blasted the president’s premature exit from the G7 meeting and his post about Macron as ‘pathetic’ and ‘petty.’
“Insulting our allies again, after whining they won’t let Putin back into the G8,” said one, in reference to the fact the then G8 group booted the Russian president out in 2014 which Trump has said was a mistake.
A second added: “I thought Macron was being very generous in saying Trump was returning to try and broker a ceasefire. It made the [orange emoji] sound presidential. But he probably just wanted to play golf.”
Others questioned what could possibly have been more important to justify leaving the table if not for a ceasefire or peace deal.
The G7 made a statement calling for a ‘de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East’ as Trump left (SUZANNE PLUNKETT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
His bizarre rant comes as Trump had told reporters before leaving Canada that Iran ‘want to make a deal, and as soon as I leave here, we’re going to be doing something. But I have to leave here.’
It now appears whatever mystery deal the POTUS was proposing has fallen through as in a subsequent post, Trump wrote: “Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life.
“Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
