White House: Here’s the President’s G20 Agenda
President Donald Trump is now en route to Hamburg, Germany, where he will participate in the first G20 summit of his administration with a number of key issues front and center.
The White House has released the following statement outlining the president’s agenda for both his second trip abroad—which has already included a side trip to speak at the Three Seas Initiative summit in Warsaw, Poland—and the G20 meetings:
President Trump plans to reaffirm America’s commitment to its allies while working to promote American interests abroad. The United States has strong roots in Europe, and President Trump understands the mutual importance of continuing this legacy of international partnership. The president will also work with America’s allies in Europe toward building a more constructive relationship with Russia and to deter the nuclear threat emanating from North Korea. The West is stronger when it stands together, especially on the issues of terrorism and common threats.
Additionally, President Trump plans to demonstrate his pledge to the American worker by seeking fair and balanced relationships on the international level. In meeting with key European partners, he will reiterate America’s commitment to collective defense while insisting that all allies pay their fair share. At the G20 Summit, President Trump will emphasize that the U.S. will work with its partners to counteract unfair economic practices that undermine global and American prosperity.
The president will also express his desire to create an open and fair energy market that leads to economic growth and energy security for our partners and allies.
President Trump hopes to communicate to American allies in Europe and major leaders across the world that, though he is committed to advancing America’s interests, his America First agenda encompasses the needs of the United States’ partners abroad. Long-term peace and international prosperity come when the United States displays leadership and is actively engaged with the rest of the world.
The trip will demonstrate the dichotomy of the U.S.-European relationship. In the president’s visit to Poland, he was met with enthusiasm and cheers that rivaled many of his campaign rallies during the 2016 presidential campaign. In Germany, it will be a much cooler reception.
G20 meetings, regardless of where they are held, attract a lot of protests. But a recent parade in Germany demonstrated the level of hatred in that country directed at the U.S. president.
It featured two floats, both of which offer horrific depictions of the president. The first can’t even be discussed in decent terms, while the second features the Statue of Liberty with “America, Resist!” written across its chest, holding up the president’s severed head—much like comedian Kathy Griffin did in her now infamous photo shoot—while holding in its other hand a sign that reads “Verfassung,” the German word for “Constitution.”
President Trump has an equally cold relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had attempted to take a leadership role in Europe and NATO during the Obama administration and is now bristling under the newfound leadership of the U.S. under the Trump administration. {eoa}
