by Met Middleson

June 16, 2025

Speaking at a G7 press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney standing beside him, President Donald Trump delivered a forceful defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin and condemned the decision to remove Russia from the G8. “Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in,” Trump said. “And I would say that that was a mistake. Because I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in.”

Trump continued: “He [Putin] wasn’t an enemy at that time,” referencing the period when Russia was ousted from the economic forum. “Putin speaks to me. He doesn’t speak to anyone else,” Trump added, framing his personal relationship with the Russian leader as diplomatically unique. He concluded with a striking endorsement of Putin’s disengagement with other world leaders, stating, “He basically doesn’t even speak to the people who threw him out. And I agree with him.”

Russia was expelled from the G8 in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea and military intervention in Eastern Ukraine, actions that drew widespread condemnation and led to coordinated sanctions from the U.S., Canada, and European allies. At the time, Russia’s aggression was viewed as a direct threat to international law and European stability. Trump’s comments mark a clear departure from that consensus, raising fresh questions about the administration’s alignment with longstanding U.S. foreign policy.