Trump Travels Abroad
Trump arrives in Sicily for G7 summit, the final leg of his trip abroad
President Trump arrived in Sicily on Thursday night for a G7 summit on Friday in the coastal town of Taormina with the leaders of Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Britain, and Canada. He will start the day with a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the only leader who wasn't with Trump in Brussels for a NATO summit on Thursday. "The day will feature a welcoming ceremony and concert at the remains of an ancient Greek temple, as well as a relentless number of meetings, many of which White House aides are hoping to keep short in order to keep Trump's attention," The Associated Press reports.
The topics of discussion will veer from tackling terrorism, which has broad consensus, to climate change and trade, where Trump is essentially the odd leader out. Migration and North Korea will also be big topics. "It's time for him to have an intimate discussion and understand their issues but, more importantly, for them to understand our issues," economic adviser Gary Cohn told reporters late Thursday, en route to Sicily.
The NATO summit ended with Trump scolding his 27 fellow leaders for not spending enough on defense and falling short of voluntary benchmarks, and declining to explicitly endorse NATO's Article 5 pledge of mutual support. The G7 summit might be a little better suited to Trump's skills, G7 experts say. "It is a forum made for Donald Trump's particular style. It is highly informal, highly interactive, and they speak in very colloquial language to each other," said John Kirton, director of the University of Toronto's G7 Research Group. "It is the ultimate lonely hearts club. No one understands how tough it is to have the top job except the peers with the top job in other countries."
Breaking with longstanding tradition, Trump has not held a press conference all trip, and he isn't expected to hold one in Sicily, the last stop on his nine-day tour, either.