It only took a few hours of summitry in the Canadian woods on Monday for President Donald Trump to decide he’d rather be elsewhere.
Returning to Washington on an overnight flight, Trump attributed his decision to abruptly abandon the Group of 7 summit to operational security, suggesting there could be prying ears among the fir trees listening to his secret conversations.
“I don’t believe in telephones, because people like you listen to them,” he told reporters on Air Force One. “Being on the scene is much better, and we did everything I had to do at the G7.”
Everything he had to do, yes. But not quite everything his counterparts had planned for him at thefirst international conference of his second term, where attempts to avoid open rupture were almost immediately scuttled the moment Trump first appeared before cameras to object to an 11-year-old decision to eject Russia from the group.
Back in Washington on Tuesday, Trump was planning to meet with national security officials in the White House Situation Room to discuss the situation in the Middle East. He said as he was flying home he was seeking a “real end” to the conflict rather than a ceasefire, and described himself as “not too much in the mood to negotiate.”
His vice presidentwrote on Xthat Trump “may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment,” hinting at increased US involvement in the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. And Trump issued a series of afternoon posts on Truth Social that seemed totake a more menacing posture toward Iran, noting the US knew the supreme leader’s location and calling for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
Though he initially framed his departure from Alberta as a matter of great urgency, he told reporters heading back to Washington that the picture would be clearer on Israel’s intentions “over the next two days.” If there was a imminent and specific reason for his abrupt departure, he and aides didn’t reveal it.
If one thing was clear, it was Trump’s belief that the Middle East crisis wouldn’t be resolved in the woods of Canada. Though he was surrounded by his foreign counterparts, Trump appeared to give little weight to the idea of collective action, believing instead it was his decisions – and his alone – that could determine the fate of the region.
A day earlier, European leaders had been scrambling to complete a joint leaders’ statement calling for de-escalation between Israel and Iran. They’d met resistance from US officials, who objected to some of the language in the draft and signaled that Trump would not sign on, officials familiar with the matter said.
By the time a leaders’ dinner rolled around late Monday — hours after Trump announced he wouldbe departing a day early— some of the language in the statement had been watered down. With some urging from his counterparts over their meal, Trump said he would sign off, two US officials said.
But as he returned to Washington, he seemed mostly uninterested in the details. He said he hadn’t read the document.
Never one for group meetings, nor particularly fond of rustic lodges, Trump had wavered on attending this week’s G7 at all. Organizers took pains to adjust the schedule and expectations to meet Trump’s preferences, Western officials said. Instead of a lengthy joint communiqué to issue at the summit’s conclusion, shorter statements on individual topics were prepared in the hopes a few disputed lines would not scupper a broader show of unity.
And instead of stacking the agenda with back-to-back group sessions, which even presidents before Trump have described as tedious, time was left for more lively one-on-ones that would allow leaders to engage Trump informally.
The goal: don’t let Trump get bored. That, many European officials believe, is when disaster can strike.
Trump’s aides said before the summit began that foreign leaders were scrambling to meet him, in part to make their case on trade deals that could avoid punishing new tariffs next month.
And it did appear as if the line to engage Trump stretched well out the door of the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney began by wishing Trump a happy birthday. Other leaders came armed with gifts. The president of the European Council, António Costa, handed Trump a Portugal shirt signed by soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Trade — the topic Trump came to Canada to discuss — was indeed discussed. After avoiding her for months, Trump finally sat for talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as they work out terms of a trade deal.
And he was eager to showcase a new trade pact with the United Kingdom, though he mistakenly identified it as an agreement with the European Union and the papers fell all over the ground as he was showing them to reporters.
“A very important document,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer deadpanned after bending down to scoop up the signed agreement.
But all of the individual attention was not enough to keep Trump in Canada. By mid-afternoon, it was clear to aides he wanted to leave early, a White House official said.The crisis in the Middle East had preoccupied the president, who constantly asked for updates amid the meetings, the official said.
“As soon as I leave here, we’re going to be doing something. But I have to leave here,” he said during his appearance with Starmer, suggesting he was under pressure to depart.
Trump’s counterparts tried to take the news in stride.
“I am very grateful for the president’s presence and I fully understand why he is leaving,” Carney said as he and Trump departed the summit’s ritual family photo.
French President Emmanuel Macron described Trump’s early departure as a positive sign, saying there had been an offer “to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions” between Iran and Israel.
Trump denied that as he was departing, calling Macron “publicity seeking” and misinformed.
“Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong,” Trump wrote as his plane was taxiing in Calgary, having just left Macron and the other leaders behind in the mountains.
In the sky above the airport, a plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — who had been planning to meet Trump on Tuesday — was waiting to land.
The two men did not cross paths.