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Last Day of G-7 Summit Focuses on Trade, Climate and Migration

by Associated Press

   TAORMINA, ITALY --

   President Donald Trump is down to the final day of his first
   international trip.

   Trump arrived Saturday for the second day of the G-7 summit in Sicily,
   bringing to an end a nine-day trip that started in Saudi Arabia and
   Israel before moving on to three European stops.

   The trip has largely gone off without a major misstep, with the
   administration touting the president's efforts to launch a new
   coalition to fight terrorism, while admonishing partners in an old
   alliance to pay their fair share.
   After the pomp of presidential travel overseas, Trump will return to
   Washington to find the same problems that have dogged him.

   G-7 talks, then a visit with the troops

   But first the president has one more day in Sicily, which will include
   discussions of global economy and climate, a meeting with small African
   nations -- Trump will be seated between the leaders of Niger and
   Tunisia -- and migration issues. After the G-7 summit of economically
   advanced countries, the president will address American troops on an
   Italian base before departing for home.
   Not yet on the agenda: a news conference.
   If that holds, Trump will break with presidential precedent by not
   holding at least one lengthy question-and-answer session with the press
   while abroad. Anxious about Trump's tendency to make things worse for
   himself with unscripted remarks, the White House staff has kept the
   president a safe distance from journalists for most of the trip.

   No deadline on climate decision
   Trump was warmly welcomed in the Middle East, but in Europe he's faced
   a far cooler reception. He's been willing to risk disapproval, engaging
   in an extraordinary scolding of close allies over their responsibility
   to pay for mutual defense. But true to form, on Friday Trump also
   showed that he might be willing to deal.
   While Trump is demanding that the world's wealthiest nations to do more
   to fight terror, he's also listening to their urgings about the need
   for the U.S. to remain in the sweeping Paris climate agreement. As a
   candidate Trump denounced the deal, but has since said he's waiting to
   make a final decision.
   "His views are evolving, he came here to learn and get smarter," said
   Gary Cohn, national economic council director, when asked about the
   president's views on the climate agreement. Cohn would not commit to a
   timetable for a decision. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, who
   appeared with Cohn at a briefing late Friday, quickly jumped in to
   reiterate that Trump would make a decision based "on what's best for
   the American people."

   Other G-7 nations leaned heavily on Trump to stay in the deal, with
   German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying "we put forward very many
   arguments."
   Trump took part in the ceremonial spectacle of the summit, this time at
   a picturesque Sicilian town above the Mediterranean Sea. But he also
   held one-on-one meetings with the leaders of Japan, the United Kingdom
   and Germany.