Trump clears a low bar at the G7 after months of tumult

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — The White House had a low bar for the G7 summit. President Donald Trump cleared it.

Heading into the gathering, expectations were modest, as Trump officials and G7 allies hoped to avoid any major blow-ups over the dicey issues that have threatened international relationships in recent months — from Russia’s war in Ukraine to the conflict in Iran. The leaders sought to demonstrate that the world’s leading economies could still work together, while keeping Trump in the country until the very end.

That they did — an achievement far from guaranteed for the leaders of the world’s seven largest economies and democracies, convening at a lakeside resort in France during a moment of acute global uncertainty. And in the Trump era, it’s another example of how success often means avoiding the worst-case scenario rather than sweeping breakthroughs or concrete policy directives.

The president, known to loathe the multilateral setting, had a positive review himself.

“It’s been a very successful trip,” Trump said. “A lot of things have happened that have been very good.”

Trump notched a few wins, including receiving tentative cooperation from allies on demining the Strait of Hormuz, though the Europeans’ next steps hinge on the president’s ability to iron out his deal. And in a joint statement, the leaders congratulated the U.S. president three times on Iran — an intentional gesture to appeal to the president, said one G7 diplomat granted anonymity to discuss the fragile dynamics.

“He is getting a lot of flak back home,” the diplomat said. “This is our way of showing him support.”

And while some anticipated that the president might aggressively hit allies on how they’re handling the deadly Ebola outbreak — urging the countries to impose travel bans as the U.S. has — he kept his comments to a minimum. During his Wednesday press conference, Trump touted the U.S. response to Ebola and said it surpassed that of allies, before quickly moving on to other issues. He only briefly criticized Europeans for their handling of illegal immigration.

“No bad news is good news. Relations between the G7 partners have arguably gotten more strained across a range of economic fronts this past year, but this summit was markedly better than last year’s, when the president left early,” said Philip Luck, the deputy chief economist in the State Department during the Biden administration, citing Trump’s departure from the Canadian-hosted confab to address what was then the burgeoning conflict in Iran. “Real movement on Russia, a relatively honest naming of the shared challenges, and broad alignment on the direction of travel, if not the exact route, is about as much as anyone should have expected, and frankly more than I thought we’d get.”

The Europeans can also leave France having secured some commitments from the president. The leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for two hours on Tuesday, and Trump expressed openness to increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, signaling interest in soon allowing the U.S. waiver on Russian oil sanctions to lapse. He also suggested he could turn his attention back to Ukraine amid the agreement with Iran.

The G7 leaders, including Trump, signed onto the statement declaring that they “stand united” in support for Ukraine, that they agreed to increase Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, long-range missiles, and interceptors, while committing to “increase the pressure on the Russian war economy,” including with sanctions on “the oil and gas sector.”

Trump also said he would take a look at allowing U.S. defense companies to produce weapons under license in Europe and Ukraine, a measure that could help the country’s desperate need for weapons.

“There were no moments of friction or disagreement,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said at a press conference Wednesday. “I found that, overall, there was a desire to work together, and that’s not something to be taken for granted.”

Leaders, diplomats and foreign policy experts have given much of the credit to summit host French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron made an effort to keep the president at the table this year, including with an opulent dinner at the Palace of Versailles at the close of the summit on Wednesday night. One former Trump administration official noted that Macron is the only G7 leader who has been in office since Trump’s first term, adding that he is “very savvy” in how he handles the president.

Macron, who faced questions Wednesday about whether he was “rolling out the red carpet” for Trump at the G7, defended his approach.

“I have always kept dialogue open because that’s what diplomacy is,” he said.

In the lead-up to the summit, even the minimum seemed out of reach. The president was threatening further escalation in Iran. Allies were prepared to press the president on his end game for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the closure of which has rattled oil markets, disrupted energy supplies and turbocharged inflationary pressures in the U.S. and abroad.

What comes next as G7 leaders return home remains uncertain — as does the allies’ role in securing the Strait of Hormuz. Diplomats this week cautioned against being overly optimistic about the summit’s high points, noting the president’s tendency to reverse course, namely on Ukraine.

But for now, they can declare the summit a success.

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