On his way to Quebec for the Group of Seven, President Trump said Russia should be reinstated and included in the meeting of leading industrialized nations even though Russia has done nothing to change the reason it got kicked out of the summit in the first place.
“Now, I love our country. I have been Russia’s worst nightmare. . . . But with that being said, Russia should be in this meeting,” Trump said Friday as he left the White House. “It may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run. . . . They should let Russia back in.”
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U.S. intelligence officials believe Russia interfered in the 2016 election, and part of this year’s G-7 summit was supposed to focus on protecting democracies from foreign meddling.
CNN:
Russia was suspended from the group -- then known as the G8 -- in 2014 after the majority of member countries allied against Russia's annexation of Crimea, which Russia continues to hold.
Asked in an interview earlier this week about what would need to happen for Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine, Putin told Austria's ORF broadcasting corporation that "there are no such conditions and there can never be."
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The President's willingness to look the other way on Russia's annexation of Crimea -- the first violation of a European country's borders since World War II -- will particularly deepen the chill with allies such as the UK, France and Germany, which are already furious about US trade tariffs, and Trump's rejection of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement.
At home, Trump's continuing failure to condemn Russia for its aggressive behavior and his ongoing push to restore more normal relations is bound to raise questions, once again, about his affinity for Moscow and Putin.
Trump's comments also come at a time when Trump is on the outs with other members of the G7. On Thursday, Trump engaged in a bitter back-and-forth with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over Twitter, both of whom he'll meet face-to-face on Friday.
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On Thursday, Macron said the leaders would not rule out a 6+1 communique as opposed to the traditional document signed by all leaders at the end of the summit with shared goals and principles.
Trump on Friday also reiterated his plans to take a tough stance on trade with U.S. allies at the summit, threatening again to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement.
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Trump is scheduled to meet with Macron and Trudeau on Friday, and then he will leave the G-7 summit early on Saturday, an unexpected schedule revision that will pull him out of discussions on climate change.
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The Kremlin has appeared to enjoy an “I told you so” moment as it watches Trump’s escalating conflict with America’s closest allies. Putin has long spoken about the dangers of a world dominated by the United States.
On Thursday, Putin said that with Trump’s metals tariffs, Europeans were getting their comeuppance for showing excessive deference to Washington — and getting a taste of the way the United States has long treated Russia.
“Our partners probably thought that these counterproductive policies would never affect them,” Putin said in his annual televised call-in show. “No one wanted to listen, and no one wanted to do anything to stop these tendencies. Here we are.”
Lawmakers quickly weighed in on President Trump's shocking call to reinstate Russia.
"This is weak," Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said. "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not our friend and he is not the president's buddy. He is a thug using Soviet-style aggression to wage a shadow war against America, and our leaders should act like it."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in a statement that Russia had done nothing to warrant being allowed back into the G-7.
"The president has inexplicably shown our adversaries the deference and esteem that should be reserved for our closest allies," McCain said. "Those nations that share our values and have sacrificed alongside us for decades are being treated with contempt."
"The United States helped establish and lead the G7 in pursuit of a peaceful and prosperous world," [Democratic ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs] Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said in a statement. "While the other G7 democracies continue to uphold those values, President Trump has isolated the United States, weakened American influence, and alienated our closest allies. So it’s hardly a surprise he’s now looking to the leader he seems to admire most: Vladimir Putin."
Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, another frequent critic of the president on foreign policy, also tweeted, "No, Russia should not be added to the G-7."
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"We should remind ourselves why the G8 became the G7 - it was after Russia illegally annexed Crimea," [a senior U.K. government source] said. "Since then we have seen malign activity from Russia in a whole variety of ways, including on the streets of Salisbury in the UK. Before any conversations can take place about Russia rejoining, it needs to change its approach."
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joined in the pile-on of criticism saying, "readmitting Russia to the G7 would reward Vladimir Putin for actions the U.S. and his allies have condemned, and would clearly be contrary to America's interests."
Trump says Russia should be reinstated in group of leading industrialized nations (CNN)
Trump calls for Russia to be reinstated to G-7, threatens allies on trade (WaPo)
Isolated at G-7, Trump says he wants to let Russia back in (NBC News)
Trump's call for Russia to join G7 faces swift backlash (ABC News)