JAMIL CHADE: G7 Summit Exposes Western Leaders’ Subservience to Trump
ICL Columnists
JAMIL CHADE: G7 Summit Exposes Western Leaders’ Subservience to Trump
Hosts and participants are forced to yield, maneuver the agenda, and wait for the American so that the meeting can take place
06/16/2026 | 06:11 AM
There is a huge elephant in the room and few know what to do with it. This week, at the G7 summit in Evian, although the topics on the agenda include the war in Ukraine, Iran, rare earths, China, and many other critical issues, there is one aspect that permeates absolutely all meetings and preparations: the ego and interests of Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, in scenes uncommon in international diplomacy, the heads of government of Europe, Canada, and Japan waited nearly an hour for Trump in the meeting room of the French city.
The discomfort was obvious. Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, tried to find out what was happening. Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, mocked the delays.
When Trump finally arrived, Germany’s Friedrich Merz hurried to present him with a German national team jersey and get a photo with the American. The grandfather of the American president was German, which would allow Trump to play for the Mannschaft. The Republican brushed off the gift with a clearly disdainful smile.
It was not just a delay. Before the meeting began, Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, and host Emmanuel Macron were trying to reach a convergent position on the future of the war in Ukraine. One of the goals of the G7 summit is to ensure that the United States maintains its support for Kyiv. But to achieve this, the French hosts knew they needed to give the American a different status from the other leaders around the table.
Over the past few days, European diplomats have done everything possible to accommodate U.S. demands and split up the final declaration in order to avoid failure.
To satisfy the Americans, issues such as climate change were excluded from the meeting agenda, precisely at a time when the world will face one of the strongest phenomena in decades.
Any reference to taxing large fortunes was also removed from the agenda, while the participation of civil society was completely barred.
Evian has become the most heavily secured place on the planet this week, with 16,000 soldiers and police officers protecting a city of only 9,000 inhabitants.
In hopes of pleasing Trump, the G7 also yielded on several points during negotiations. In the text expected to be approved regarding Ebola, for example, leaders removed references to the WHO, precisely to avoid conflicting with American interests.
Regarding global economic imbalances, the focus is on China, avoiding stronger criticism of U.S. protectionism. In the debate on rare earths, once again the text emphasizes slowing China’s advance, a demand from Trump.
To persuade the American to stay until the end of the summit and not leave the meeting after a few hours, Macron devised a dinner on Wednesday at which Trump will be the only guest. The event will take place at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris. The location is considered one of Trump’s favorites in Europe and is said to inspire the golden décor found in parts of the White House.
The French knew that, to convince Trump not to undermine the summit, they would have to appeal to his ego. For that, they needed the most symbolic palace of the European monarchy. There will even be fireworks, something the American has already declared himself fascinated by.
All of this, of course, funded by French taxpayers.
Source: ICL Notícias
Cruzando fronteiras com refugiados, testemunhando crimes contra a humanidade, viajando com papas ou cobrindo cúpulas diplomáticas, Jamil Chade percorreu mais de 70 países. Com seu escritório na sede da ONU em Genebra, ele foi eleito o segundo jornalista mais admirado do Brasil em 2025. Chade foi indicado 4 vezes como finalista do prêmio Jabuti. Ele é embaixador do Instituto Adus, membro do conselho do Instituto Vladimir Herzog e foi um dos pesquisadores da Comissão Nacional da Verdade.
https://iclnoticias.com.br/cupula-do-g7-expoe-vassalagem-de-lideres-ocidentais-a-trump/
