Donald Trump has slammed the “fake news media” for showing his encounters with the G7 leaders in a “bad” light and unleashed a series of tweets depicting his friendly relationship with the world elite, full of coziness and smiles.
Last week Trump made an early exit from the gathering, departing the Group of Seven talks in Quebec, Canada, hours before the leaders of advanced economies gathered to discuss climate change. The US president's departure was widely seen as the last straw, following two days of severed discussions, after which he called the host, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, “weak” and “dishonest,” and refused to sign the final joint G7 communiqué.
READ MORE: Trump won't endorse G7 joint statement, attacks 'weak & dishonest' Trudeau
The division between the US leader and the six other members of the elite club were clear even before Trump’s arrival, when the billionaire president surprisingly called for Russia to be brought back to the G7 negotiations table, a restoration to G8.
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During the two-day summit, a photo of Trump sitting with his arms crossed in a chair while German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks down at him surrounded by other world leaders, went viral. Many observers suggested it vividly symbolized the rift between Trump and the rest of the leaders in the room, in particular broad disagreement with new US trade tariffs.
In a series of Tweets on Friday, the US President denied speculation that his relations with G7 leaders have soured in any way and, to prove his point, tweeted a series of pictures of his encounters. “The Fake News Media said that I did not get along with other Leaders at the #G7Summit in Canada. They are once again, WRONG!” the US president declared, tweeting a collage of pictures of his great retreat in Canada.
Trump emphasized his “great relationship” with the German chancellor, slamming the media for using “wrong” photos. “I have a great relationship with Angela Merkel of Germany, but the Fake News Media only shows the bad photos (implying anger) of negotiating an agreement - where I am asking for things that no other American President would ask for!” the US president said, in another tweet.
As a finishing stroke, Trump tweeted a picture with the European Union elites, highlighting his “great discussions with European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Council President Donald Tusk.”
READ MORE: 'With friends like that who needs enemies’: Tusk lashes out at Trump
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