President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force 1 at Calgary International Airport, Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Calgary, Canada, ahead of the G7 Summit. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

By Glynn Brothen

Tense Beginning

‘He was thrown out’: Trump comes to Putin’s defence at start of G7

Jun 16, 2025 | 10:01 AM

KANANASKIS, Alt. — Group of Seven (G7) negotiations are already off to a rocky start after a warm welcome quickly devolved into a tense public episode with US President Donald Trump complaining it was a ‘mistake’ to remove Russia from the group.

“You want to have people you can talk to. Putin speaks to me; he doesn’t speak to anyone else. He was very insulted… he was thrown out by [Justin] Trudeau along with [Barack] Obama. He was thrown out and he’s not a happy person about it, I can tell you that,” he said. “I agree with him.”

Russia was ousted from the former G8 in March 2014 after its occupation of Crimea, while Trudeau was elected Prime Minister in Oct. 2015.

The president’s criticisms were made at Monday’s brief press conference with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Kananaskis, Alberta.

In another reference to Russia, Trump stated there would be no war with Ukraine had he been re-elected president in 2020.

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Trump veered from numerous topics including the conflict in Iran, protests in various cities, and trade discussions expected today.

As for whether he and Carney can determine a mutually beneficial solution to their trade conflict, including tariffs, remains to be seen.

“I’m a tariff person. It’s simple, easy and precise and goes very quickly,” Trump said. “Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good.”

At one point, Carney called an end to the press conference as Trump devolved into an often repeated, disproven, complaint about democratic cities and states being “overrun by criminals” who immigrated to the United States.

The G7 event is set to run until Tuesday, with invited representatives from Korea, Brazil, India and Mexico set to arrive Monday afternoon.

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glynn.brothen@pattisonmedia.com