McCain rips Trump over trade, tells allies: ‘Americans stand with you, even if our president doesn’t’

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took a jab at President Trump on Saturday after Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Canada and pulled his endorsement of a joint communique signed with other Group of Seven (G-7) members at this weekend’s summit.

“To our allies: bipartisan majorities of Americans remain pro-free trade, pro-globalization & supportive of alliances based on 70 years of shared values,” McCain tweeted late Saturday.

“Americans stand with you, even if our president doesn’t,” the senator added.

To our allies: bipartisan majorities of Americans remain pro-free trade, pro-globalization & supportive of alliances based on 70 years of shared values. Americans stand with you, even if our president doesn’t.

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) June 9, 2018

McCain was responding to a series of tweets Trump sent Saturday after leaving the G-7 summit early to depart for a planned sit-down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

In the tweets, Trump rebuked an earlier announcement from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had stated during his closing remarks at the summit that all G-7 members signed the joint communique, as is customary.

{mosads}

“Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, 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 tweeted. 

Tensions were high between Trump and the other world leaders regarding the recently implemented U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that Trump imposed on key allies, including Canada.

Members of top Democratic leadership, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), also condemned Trump’s statements, cautioning against alienating top U.S. allies.