When U.S. President Donald Trump last came to Canada for a Group of Seven summit , the enduring image was of him seated with his arms folded defiantly as then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel stared daggers at him.
If there is a shared mission at this year's G7 summit, which begins Monday in Canada's Rocky Mountains, it is a desire to minimize any fireworks at a moment of combustible tensions.
The 2018 summit ended with Trump assailing his Canadian hosts on social media as he departed on Air Force One, saying he had instructed the U.S. officials who remained in Quebec to oppose the G7 joint statement endorsed by the leaders of Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and, of course, Canada.
"I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!" Trump posted on the site then known as Twitter.
This time, Trump already has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. There is little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and now a new and escalating conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.