Donald Trump heads to his big North Korea summit having used the G7 meeting to isolate the United States from its allies. Trump will face off against Kim Jong-un not in a position of strength but with U.S. allies saying things like this following Trump’s juvenile behavior at the G7 and his attacks on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after he left that meeting:
“International cooperation can’t depend on anger and small words,” France’s Élysée Palace said in a statement. “Let’s be serious and worthy of our people. We spent two days obtaining a draft and commitments. We stick to it. And anyone who leaves and turns their back on them shows their inconsistency.”
Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain issued a statement through an aide saying she was “fully supportive of Justin Trudeau.” The German foreign minister, Heiko Maas, on Sunday called on European nations to stick together following Mr. Trump’s announcement.
“It’s actually not a real surprise,” Mr. Maas told reporters in Berlin. “We have seen this with the climate agreement or the Iran deal. In a matter of seconds, you can destroy trust with 280 Twitter characters. To build that up again will take much longer.”
Trump just showed Kim how little he is to be trusted—after all, he waited until after he left a summit with other nations to disavow the agreements worked out at it—and how weak America’s international relationships are. Trump may believe he showed strength by going to the G7 but showing up late and leaving early, refusing to wear headphones for translation when other leaders spoke, and appearing to doze off. But in reality, he offered Kim a wealth of information on how to play him, and no amount of Trump’s posturing will be able to make up for the reality of how he’s weakened the U.S. by weakening its international alliances.