Before boarding the plane to Quebec for the G-7 summit, President Trump answered a lot of questions from the press. Katie covered most of his answers here, including how he wants to have Russia reinstated as one of the participating nations. It may not be politically correct, he told reporters, but it's the right thing to do.
.@POTUS on G7: "Russia should be in this meeting. Whether you like it or not and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run. G7 threw Russia out. They should let Russia come back in." pic.twitter.com/NPDleC5Ffb
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) June 8, 2018
That's a "weak" idea, according to Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), one of several Republicans to hit back at Trump's suggestion.
“Putin is not our friend and he is not the president's buddy," Sasse said. "He is a thug using Soviet-style aggression to wage a shadow war against America, and our leaders should act like it.”
It used to be the Group of Eight, but in 2014 the other nations booted Russia for annexing Crimea and supporting pro-Kremlin separatists in eastern Ukraine. In the wake of the reports about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the ongoing investigation into whether the Kremlin colluded with the Trump campaign, the president faced some severe pushback for his suggestion to welcome Russia back.
Trump did, however, have some harsh things to say about Canada and France. Both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron chided Trump this week for hitting them with steel and aluminum tariffs. Trump shot back, explaining on Twitter that they both had it coming because they are taking advantage of trade.
In the midst of the ongoing tension, Trump's meeting with Macron has reportedly been postponed.