Before taking off for the G7 meeting in Canada, US President Trump suggested that Russia should be asked to rejoin the group. Russia was excluded from the G8 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea. Because of that hostile act, the leaders of the states in the group (the US President was Obama at the time) decided that Russia betrayed the values underlying the group’s commitments to liberal values. There was no support for the suggestion by any of the other six states. Trump also alienated some of the leaders by tweeting the night before the meeting:
“Please tell Prime Minister Trudeau and President Macron that they are charging the U.S. massive tariffs and create non-monetary barriers….The EU trade surplus with the U.S. is $151 Billion, and Canada keeps our farmers and others out. Look forward to seeing them tomorrow.”
By all accounts, the meetings were diplomatically cordial, but it seems unlikely that the group will issue its typical final communique since there does not seem to be anything agreed upon. I think, however, that everyone is flummoxed by Trump’s solicitous behavior toward Russia and Vladimir Putin. It is very difficult to comprehend how quickly the alliances that have existed my entire lifetime have seemed to fall apart.
Mexico has a national election on 1 July and the current front-runner is Andrés Manuel López Obrador who ran unsuccessfully for the office of President in 2006 and 2012. Mexico has been plagued by violence and charges of corruption recently and the trade uncertainties associated with the renegotiation of NAFTA have unsettled the economy. López Obrador, if elected, will complicate those negotiations since he is generally hostile to the US. But the polls indicate that the Mexican people are generally in favor of a significant change from previous politics.
López Obrador
World Politics News 
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