A6 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.MONDAY, AUGUST 26 , 2019
French had invited the senior
Iranian official, though it was
unclear how much Trump had
been briefed ahead of time.
Trump pulled the United States
last year from the 2015 Iranian
nuclear agreement, undermin-
ing an accord that European
leaders feel is core to their secu-
rity interests. Macron has tried
to broker new talks.
Asked if he was aware Zarif
might fly into Biarritz on Sunday,
Trump answered, “no comment.”
Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin later told reporters that
the United States would be open
to meeting with Iranian officials
but didn’t speculate as to wheth-
er or when that would happen.
As the summit continued Sun-
day, Trump’s interest appeared to
wane. During an afternoon
break, he posted items on Twitter
that had little to do with the G-7.
He wished a happy birthday, for
example, to celebrities Regis
Philbin and Sean Connery. He
also quipped about his poll num-
bers and complained about his
treatment by Fox News.
But all eyes have been on him
over the past two days.
At a closed-door dinner Satur-
day night, leaders confronted
Trump over his suggestion that
Putin join next year’s installment
of the summit, when it is in the
United States, according to offi-
cials briefed on the discussions
who agreed to describe them on
the condition of anonymity.
The contentious exchange
boiled down to whether leaders
felt it was useful to have conver-
sations purely among liberal de-
mocracies. Trump didn’t put any
special weight on the format,
officials said.
Trump told reporters on Sun-
day that there had not been a
consensus about what he should
do regarding Putin next year, and
he said that some unnamed
world leaders wanted Putin to
attend.
He did not offer names, but a
European official said later that
Japan was neutral on the propos-
al and that Italy also offered little
objection.
A live microphone captured a
private conversation Sunday be-
tween Johnson and Macron, and
Johnson appeared to remark
about a tense moment on Satur-
day evening, the night of the
Putin debate.
“You did very well there last
night. My God, that was a diffi-
cult one,” Johnson told Macron
on Sunday ahead of one meeting,
pumping his fist.
“Bien joué,” the British leader
said, using the French phrase for
“well played.”
The summit is set to conclude
on Monday afternoon. Trump
will host next year’s G-7, and he is
leaving whether he will invite
Putin as a cliffhanger.
“It’s certainly possible,” he
said. “We’ll see.”
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[email protected]and avoid confrontation.
At the Sunday breakfast, John-
son, seen as a key White House
ally, was the first leader at the
meeting to publicly — although
gingerly — question Trump’s ap-
proach to the trade war with
China, which some believe is
affecting the global economy.
“Just to register the faint,
sheeplike note of our view on the
trade war,” the British prime
minister said, “we’re in favor of
trade peace on the whole.... We
think that, on the whole, the U.K.
has profited massively in the last
200 years from free trade.”Later, it was Abe’s turn.
A reporter asked Trump if he
was concerned about a recent
North Korean missile launch.
“We’re in the world of missiles,
folks, whether you like it or not,”
Trump said, adding that he un-
derstands why Abe is unhappy
with the testing.
Abe made clear that he views
North Korea’s move as a serious
breach of international expecta-
tions for the rogue nation.
“Our position is very clear:
that the launch of short-range
ballistic missiles by North Korea
clearly violates the relevant U.N.
Security Council resolutions,” he
said.
The remarks from foreign
leaders didn’t appear coordinat-
ed, but they did reflect a growing
comfort in pushing back — how-
ever slightly — in person to a U.S.
leader who likes to be feted and
praised wherever he goes.
Even the positive news Trump
tried to roll out had some confus-
ing elements. Trump told report-
ers that he had reached a trade
deal with Japan that would be
signed as soon as next month,
but Abe said more work re-
mained. Still, the announcement
drew cheers from U.S. farm
groups, who believed Trump had
opened up access to a big Asian
market.
The summit was later jolted by
an afternoon surprise — the
arrival of Iranian Foreign Minis-
ter Mohammad Javad Zarif.
A number of White House
officials were not aware that theorganizations. But on this trip
he has also done little to as-
suage concerns that the United
States would continue to act
unilaterally, particularly related
to tariffs, regardless of the eco-
nomic impact.
“From the moment we got
here, we’ve been treated beauti-
fully,” Trump said during a meet-
ing with Japanese Prime Minis-
ter Shinzo Abe before going on to
compliment the job being done
by French President Emmanuel
Macron as host of the summit.
“And I want to congratulate —
and I have to say ‘thus far,’
because we’re probably halfway
through. But thus far, this has
been really a great G-7, and I
want to congratulate France and
your president because they have
really done a great job.”
On Sunday morning, during a
breakfast with British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson, a report-
er asked Trump if he had “second
thoughts” about the recent esca-
lation of his trade war with
China. Trump has tried to cut a
trade deal with China for more
than a year, but those efforts
unraveled recently and both
sides ratcheted up attacks last
week.
Trump, for the first time, ap-
peared to acknowledge regrets
about the direction things had
gone.
“Yeah, sure. Why not,” he said.
“Might as well. I have second
thoughts about everything.”
His comments drew interna-
tional headlines. Several hours
later, White House press secre-
tary Stephanie Grisham tried to
recast Trump’s comments, alleg-
ing they had been taken out of
context.
“The president was asked if he
had ‘any second thought on esca-
lating the trade war with China.’
His answer has been greatly
misinterpreted. President Trump
responded in the affirmative —
because he regrets not raising
the tariffs higher,” she said in a
statement.
Trump’s top economic adviser,
Larry Kudlow, offered an even
different characterization later,
telling reporters that Trump had
difficulty hearing the question.
It was the latest in a swing of
reversals from the White House
in the past week, over issues such
as tax policy, attempting to pur-
chase Greenland and — most
notably — China.
Former treasury secretary
Lawrence Summers, a veteran of
the Clinton and Obama adminis-
trations, said the White House’s
conflicting statements were just
the latest in a string of mixed
messages that had made it im-
possible for people to under-
stand its agenda.
“Deeply misguided policy and
strategy has been joined for
some time by dubious negotiat-
ing tactics, with promises not
kept and threats not carried out
on a regular basis,” Summers
said in an interview. “We are at a
new stage now with very erratic
presidential behavior and fre-
quent denials of obvious reality. I
know of no U.S. historical prec-
edent.”
The G-7 summit is an annual
gathering of economic powers
that is meant to draw leaders
together so they can attempt to
address global tensions. But the
summit has not had success
bridging differences during the
Trump administration.
At last year’s summit, held in
Canada, Trump announced that
he was withdrawing from a final
agreement because he felt insult-
ed by Canada’s prime minister,
Justin Trudeau. Also at that sum-
mit, Trump tossed two candies in
the direction of German Chan-
cellor Angela Merkel, telling her,
“Don’t say I never give you any-
thing.”
In the run-up to this summit,
European officials signaled they
planned to tiptoe around TrumpSUMMIT FROM AAt G-7, a lack of consensus
LUDOVIC MARIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGESBERTRAND GUAY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
TOP: President Trump praised French President Emmanuel
Macron on his job as the G-7 host in Biarritz. ABOVE: Activist
Jean-Baptiste Redde stands with a sign reading “Climate and social
justice, G7 act” and a peace flag in Bayonne, France, ahead of a
demonstration against the summit of global leaders.“Just to register the
faint, sheeplike note of
our view on the trade
war, we’re in favor of
trade peace.... We
think that, on the whole,
the U.K. has profited
massively in the last
200 years from
free trade.”
Boris Johnson,
British prime minister