Trump slams Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau for ousting Putin from G7, claims move sparked Ukraine war

WASHINGTON, DC: The G7 summit in Canada got off to a rather dramatic start as President Donald Trump wasted no time making headlines.

Before the official talks even began, Trump proposed bringing Russia back into the fold, and maybe even inviting China. 

Speaking to the press with Canadian Prime Minister and summit host Mark Carney by his side, Trump dove right in.

“The G7 used to be the G8,” he reminded everyone, referencing the group’s former lineup before Russia was booted in 2014 over its annexation of Crimea. “Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in," he alleged.

A small glitch in the timeline there—Justin Trudeau didn’t become prime minister until a year after that happened. But Trump brushed right past that and added, “I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in, and you wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago.”

US-Canada tariff talk at G7 Summit

Things kicked off with Mark Carney and Donald Trump facing a flurry of questions, starting with the US-Canada trade negotiations. Trump clarified that the disagreements weren’t personal. “It’s not so much holding up. I think we have different concepts,” he said. 

“I have a tariff concept, Mark has a different concept, which is something that some people like," he explained. “I’ve always been a tariff person. It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s precise, and it just goes very quickly.”

Still, he didn’t completely dismiss Carney’s style. “Also very good,” he admitted about the Canadian’s more intricate approach. “We’re going to look at both and we’re going to come out with something hopefully," he insisted.

When asked about a timeline, Trump kept it vague but optimistic. “It’s achievable, but both parties have to agree,” he said.

Donald Trump speaks of Vladimir Putin's exclusion from G7

Standing next to Carney—whose predecessor, Stephen Harper, was one of the original advocates for booting Russia—Trump chimed in on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The G7 used to be the G8,” he said. “Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in, and I would say that was a mistake because I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in." 

He suggested that if Putin had still been part of the G7 conversations, the whole Ukraine situation could’ve been avoided. “Putin speaks to me. He doesn’t speak to anybody else,” Trump declared. “He doesn’t want to talk because he was very insulted when he got thrown out of the G8, as I would be, as you would be, as anybody would be.”

“They threw Russia out, which I claimed was a very big mistake, even though I wasn’t in politics then, I was loud about it," he continued. “It was a mistake in that you spent so much time talking about Russia, but he’s no longer at the table. It makes life more complicated. You wouldn’t have had the war.”

“You wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago,” he added. “But it didn’t work out that way.”

When asked about whether China should be part of the G7, Trump didn’t dismiss the idea. “It’s not a bad idea. I don’t mind that if somebody wants to see just China coming in," he said.

Donald Trump lauded for his comments about Russia at the G7 Summit

Supporters of Donald Trump on social media nodded in agreement with his claims about Obama, Trudeau, and their role in ousting Putin from the erstwhile G8.

"He’s right!!!" one person posted on X.

"Absolutely. Russians should be there. 100%," another wrote.

"I agree with @POTUS completely. I was vocal about it at the time it happened with the G8. Prior to that, they would not let Russia into NATO," someone else offered.

"One of the biggest power players in the world and they don't even allow them at the negotiating table," read a comment.

"Correct! All Russia has ever asked for, after throwing away communism, is to be friendly with the United States and have an economic future like ours. The CIA and the deep state has done everything they could to make sure that doesn’t happen. President Trump understands this," an individual added.

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