G7 leaders stare at Donald Trump as he walks in late and disrupts meeting

LA MALBAIE, QUE. (NEWS 1130) – A tardy Donald Trump created a distraction Saturday when he showed up late for a G7 meeting on women’s empowerment.

The US president arrived several minutes after the start of the breakfast meeting between G7 leaders and the gender equality advisory council that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau created for this year’s summit in the Charlevoix region of Quebec.

Trump missed Trudeau’s introductory statement at the meeting and entered the room while council co-chair Isabelle Hudon, who is Canada’s ambassador to France, was speaking.

His arrival was impossible to miss as security personnel had to open a path for Trump through a mob of journalists, many of whom were holding large cameras.

Trump stopped at the edge of the room and flashed a big smile in Trudeau’s direction before continuing to his seat.

The rapid-fire clicks of cameras intensified as Trump made his way into the room — to the point that the noise of all the cameras almost drowned out Hudon’s remarks.

Fellow G7 leaders stared at Trump as he slowly made his way to his seat, which was across the table from Trudeau and next to International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde.

The president has made a lot of noise at this year’s G7 event in the Quebec town of La Malbaie — first by launching a Twitter attack on Canada’s trade policies before the summit and then for suggesting Russia be invited to re-join the alliance.

The summit ends later Saturday, but Trump is set to leave early, missing the discussion on climate change and protecting oceans.

The president is leaving Quebec for Singapore, where he will hold a summit on Tuesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Before Trump’s late arrival at the breakfast event, Trudeau told the room that he wanted to see the creation of a mechanism to look at gender equality across all areas of discussion and study when it comes to the G7.

“Every topic we discuss needs to reflect on its impact on women as well as further intersectionalities, whether it be race, gender identity or background or cultures,” he said.

“These are the kinds of things that we know matter when we’re talking about economic growth that works for everyone.”

Trudeau then thanked the council for its work and for its “bold” recommendations.