Trump’s G-7 Summit

The EU and other stakeholders are keeping the U.S. president happy by flattering him, to obtain greater support for Ukraine.

This has been a summit of repeated displays of respect towards Donald Trump. Held in the French city of Évian-les-Bains, this week’s Group of 7 summit was delayed by 24 hours to allow the American president to celebrate his 80th birthday at the White House. Then, after arriving an hour late to a session, he joked that he was “the boss”, as other leaders laughed along. To avoid making Trump uncomfortable, climate change vanished from the summit’s agenda; French president Emmanuel Macron, who presided over the talks, instead compiled an order of business that included commercial inequality inflicted by China – an issue where the rest of the club’s members and the U.S. could find common ground. Those present, relieved by the prospect of an end to a war that has blighted the global economy, lauded the ceasefire agreement with Iran, although it is lost on none of them that the deal marks a defeat for the world’s strongest power. Vigilant about the risk of Trump storming out and leaving early, as he has done multiple times before, Macron invited the American president for an evening meal at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday night to celebrate a different birthday: the 250th of the United States of America.

All of this, just to keep Trump happy. Aside from the optics of these gestures, which have often seemed embarrassing, there is rationale behind this attitude. Firstly, there is a need to minimize the risk of the U.S. president appearing on air and provoking a new transatlantic crisis. For Canadians, this concerns threats to their sovereignty; for Europe, it’s Greenland, tariffs that cripple the economies of countries like Germany (and Canada), and the Trumpian attempts to cast doubt over mutual defense agreements. There is also a medium-term goal for Europeans: keep NATO afloat for as long as possible, as the continent’s ability to defend itself alone against Russia wanes. Finally, there is another, more urgent goal: defend Ukraine and ensure a dignified peace deal, one which provides security for it and the rest of Europe, in the face of Russian expansionism. For now, this is not possible without the United States, nor without reassurance that its president remains unoffended, lest he get up and leave the table. That is a luxury that nobody can afford.

As a result, since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, stakeholders have tried to limit the damage. In Évian, this has been put into practice more successfully than in the past. There were no insults or disdain this time, but merely an atmosphere of reunion – one that seemed unimaginable a few months ago – that was meticulously arranged by Macron. The U.S. has won the applause of the rest of the G-7 for its deal with Iran, one which appears to promise more concessions to the Iranian government with each new detail that is publicized. This is evidence of the failure of a war that was started without concrete objectives or plans. From Europe’s point of view, the real source of progress achieved in Évian is an agreement surrounding Ukraine and American support for the continent in withstanding Russian energy sanctions. This comes during a decisive moment in the conflict, which has now lasted longer than World War I. Clearly, little more came from the summit of the G-7, a multilateral organization created in the 1970s whose influence is waning half a century later with Trump at the table. It wasn’t for nothing, but neither was it sufficient. Deference and appeasement can never be the right strategy.