Mark Landler (2:27)

I mean, this has been an on again, off again affair from the beginning.

Michael Barbaro (2:30)

North Koreans hand delivered a letter to Trump.

Mark Landler (2:33)

Who doesn't love a letter? I would love to see what's in that letter.

Donald Trump (2:36)

It was really a very warm letter, a very nice letter. I appreciated it very much. And nothing other than we look forward to seeing you and we look forward to the summit and hopefully some wonderful things will work out.

Mark Landler (2:56)

I think that the president would probably claim that it was a brilliant tactical move, but I think what it really showed more than anything else was how personally Invested. The President is in this meeting and in a sense it's a very interesting contrast to the way he dealt with the leaders of our allies, our closest allies at the meeting that he came to Singapore from. The G7.

Donald Trump (3:22)

Russia should be in this meeting. Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting? And I would.

Mark Landler (3:29)

The meeting starts off on a very bad note.

Donald Trump (3:32)

Russia should be in the meeting. It should be a part of it.

Mark Landler (3:35)

Trump tells reporters on his way to the helicopter that's going to take him to Canada that he thinks Russia should be readmitted to the G7.

Donald Trump (3:44)

You know, whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run. And in the G7, which used to be the G8, they threw Russia out.

Mark Landler (3:57)

The G7 is a group that's composed of the world's leading market economies, the world's leading democracies. These are NATO allies. These are effectively America's closest friends in the world. So for the Most part, historically, G7 conferences are a place where America and its like minded friends get together and talk about how to tackle the great problems of the world. Russia, if you'll remember, was kicked out of the G7, which was then known as the G8 after the invasion of Crimea.

Donald Trump (4:32)

They should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.

Mark Landler (4:38)

So this is an extremely controversial thing to throw out there just before he flies up to meet the leaders. And they're completely caught off guard because they've had no advance warning or any sense that the United States might take this position.

Donald Trump (4:53)

And Paula, this G7 summit is really off to an awkward start. The President arriving here in Quebec late.

Mark Landler (4:59)

And he's leaving early.

Donald Trump (5:01)

And this morning he was late to the first working session, leaving the other.

Mark Landler (5:05)

Six world leaders gathered around an empty chair. So he arrives in Canada, having shaken everyone up, and the leaders then sit down and start talking about the issues that are on the table. And many of those issues are about trade.

Donald Trump (5:19)

Very important subject because the United States has been taken advantage of for decades and decades and we can't do that anymore.

Mark Landler (5:26)

President Trump feels that many of our G7 partners are in effect ripping us off.

Donald Trump (5:31)

Tariffs are going to come way down because people cannot continue to do that. We're like the piggy bank that everybody's robb. And that ends.

Mark Landler (5:45)

So at the end of a typical G7 meeting, there's a communique, a joint declaration signed by all seven members that usually includes a commitment to counterterrorism or climate change or Open economies, some kind of a joint declaration that basically codifies and expresses the ways that these seven leading countries are going to work together. And at one point, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, who has spent a lot of time cultivating President Trump personally, says, well, maybe we will sign a communique without the United States. Maybe it'll just be the G6. But as the meeting ends, things look like they've settled down. And there seems to be a sense of optimism that the G7, the seven members, can agree on a joint statement.

Donald Trump (6:41)

I would say that the level of relationship is a 10. We have a great relationship. Angela and Emmanuel and Justin. I would say the relationship is a 10.

Mark Landler (6:54)

But that's before Prime Minister Trudeau gives a news conference.

Michael Barbaro (6:58)

It would be with regret, but it would be with absolute certainty and firmness that we move forward with retaliatory measures on July 1, applying equivalent tariffs to the ones that the Americans have unjustly applied to us. I have made it very clear to the President that it is not something we relish doing, but it is something that we absolutely will do, because Canadians, we're polite, we're reasonable, but we also will not be pushed around.

Mark Landler (7:31)

And these comments really stick in President Trump's craw. And he decides, in effect, to reverse the position of the United States. The U.S. was going to sign the communique, and now he declares it's not going to sign it.

Michael Barbaro (7:45)

Trump pulled the US out of the.

Mark Landler (7:47)

G7 joint communique and called his Canadian counterpart, quote, very dishonest and weak.

Michael Barbaro (7:54)

President Trump was quick to respond on Twitter. He called Trudeau dishonest and weak and accused him of releasing false statements and that the US will pull back from its endorsement of the G7 summit's communique. And how unusual is it for the US president not to sign this communique?

Mark Landler (8:20)

Extremely unusual. I mean, the US Is viewed in some senses as the convener of the G7, and. And so for the US to stand apart from the other six countries, it's just an enormous symbolic break with the tradition of this group of nations, our closest allies. It sort of suggests a level of dissent and a rift in the alliance that's really quite unprecedented.

Michael Barbaro (8:45)

And why do you think that the President took this extremely unusual position of not signing the communique? Is it really about Trump feeling that the US Is getting a rotten deal when it comes to trade? And if so, isn't the point of having allies that you all kind of agree that you're on the same side and that you're supposed to pursue conflict resolution through soft diplomacy and behind the scenes negotiations.

Mark Landler (9:16)

Well, I think you're right. Historically, I think what's going on here is that President Trump does not view alliances like any of his predecessors did. President Trump actually takes the view that our allies are free riders. Our allies have been taking advantage of us. So far from viewing our allies as friends with whom we need to iron out differences behind closed doors, President Trump does not mind and in fact delights in going after our allies publicly, in turning away from them, in rebuffing them. And that's apparently how he's decided to go after this G7 meeting. And he announces this decision in the most ironic of all possible places on Air Force One, flying to Singapore for a meeting with Kim Jong Un, who's not only an adversary of the United States, but arguably the most dangerous adversary that we now have.

Donald Trump (10:16)

In just a few minutes, I'll be leaving for Singapore. I'll be on a mission of peace. And we will carry in. Really, in my heart, we're going to be carrying the hearts of millions of people, people from all over the world. We have to get denuclearization. We have to get something going. We really think that North Korea will be a tremendous place in a very short period of time. And we appreciate everything that's going on and we appreciate the working together with North Korea. They're really working very well with us. So I say, so far, so good. We're going to have to see what happens.

Michael Barbaro (11:01)

So as you're sitting in Singapore waiting for this summit with North Korea, we've got the president leaving this meeting with our greatest allies, having blown up the usual diplomacy and headed for this meeting with arguably our greatest adversary. Very eager to make a deal.

Mark Landler (11:20)

Yeah, I mean, you couldn't imagine something more ironic. But in a funny way, it's actually been true of the Trump presidency. From the very beginning. The pattern with President Trump has been to pick fights with our friends and to cultivate our adversaries. Whether it's Russia, China, Turkey, or in this case, North Korea. The pattern is established. His style is to try to build a rapport with countries that are historically not our friends, while pushing back very hard on the countries that are historically our friends.

Michael Barbaro (12:08)

We'll be right back.

Solana Pine / Jasmine Uyoa (12:11)

My name is Jasmine Uyoa, and I'm a national politics reporter for the New York Times. I grew up in Texas on the border with Mexico, and I've been reporting in the region since I was in high school. Now I travel the country looking for stories and Voices that really capture what immigration and the nation's demographic changes mean for people. What I keep encountering is that people don't fall into neat ideological boxes on this very volatile issue. There's a lot of gray, and that's where I feel the most interesting stories are. I'm trying to bring that complexity and nuance to our audience. And that's really what all of my colleagues on the politics team and every journalist at the New York Times is aiming to do. Our mission is to help you understand the world, no matter how complicated it might be. If you want to support this mission, consider subscribing to the New York Times. You can do that@nytimes.com subscribe.

Michael Barbaro (13:13)

So, Mark set the scene for me in Singapore. What's going on there in preparation for this meeting on Tuesday?

Mark Landler (13:20)

Well, you now have the two leaders sitting in luxury hotels less than a mile from each other. President Trump is at the Shangri La where I am. Kim Jong Un is at the St. Regis. At Kim's hotel. They've actually erected this sheet of netting around the hotel so onlookers and reporters and the press can't peer inside. Wow. Over here at the Shangri La where I'm staying, it's a slightly less unusual scene, although there are dozens and dozens of Secret Service and other American officials roaming the hallways. And so what you have, in essence, is these two leaders who have come thousands of miles to meet each other. In Kim's case, the farthest he's ever flown since he became the leader of North Korea, now sitting in what amounts to base camps less than a mile from each other here in Singapore.

Michael Barbaro (14:22)

And how is this meeting actually supposed to unfold? What's the plan for the summit?

Mark Landler (14:28)

Well, on Tuesday morning at 9 o', clock, the two leaders will go to yet another hotel. This one is located on an island, Sentosa island, which is just off Singapore. It's connected by causeways and bridges. And this is kind of billed as a fun little resort island.

Solana Pine / Jasmine Uyoa (14:47)

Welcome to Singapore's sunny island of Sentosa. A short train, bus, taxi, or even a cable car ride away from the city. It's a one stop holiday destination that boasts of dozens of attractions. Restaurants, bars, beaches.

Mark Landler (15:02)

There's a Ferris wheel, there's a Universal Studios theme park.

Solana Pine / Jasmine Uyoa (15:06)

Opportunities for you to have some fun in the sun.

Mark Landler (15:09)

It's basically a resort getaway that's right next to the city. And the two leaders will meet at this old restored colonial hotel. And they will walk into a large meeting room each from opposite ends, cross the room and shake each other's hands. There'll be a phalanx of cameras to record the moment, and then they will sit down and get down to business.

Donald Trump (15:33)

Thank you very much, everyone.

Michael Barbaro (15:35)

And what do we know about how President Trump has been preparing for this historic meeting to prepare for the summit with North Korea?

Donald Trump (15:43)

I think I'm very well prepared. I don't think I have to prepare very much. It's about attitude, it's about willingness to get things done. But I think I've been preparing for the summit for a long time.

Mark Landler (15:54)

Well, if you listen to President Trump, the answer is he hasn't really been preparing all that much.

Donald Trump (15:58)

This isn't a question of preparation. It's a question of whether or not people want it to happen. And we'll know that very quickly.

Mark Landler (16:04)

Trump's feeling is that you don't really prepare for an encounter like this. He said in Canada before he left.

Donald Trump (16:11)

How long will it take to figure out whether or not they're serious? I said maybe in the first minute.

Mark Landler (16:17)

That these are kind of spur of the moment things.

Donald Trump (16:20)

I think within the first minute I'll know how. Just my touch, my feel, that's what I do.

Mark Landler (16:28)

He has no doubt been talking to his aides about the issues involving North Korea, whether it's denuclearization or a peace agreement to end the Korean War. But at the end of the day, he's anticipating this to be, you know, a fairly personal, gut level encounter. I don't think he's buried himself in briefing books. I think he's assuming he's going to go in, take the measure of the man and go from there.

Donald Trump (16:55)

You know, the way they say that, you know, if you're going to like somebody in the first five seconds. You ever hear that one? Well, I think that very quickly I'll know whether or not something good is going to happen. I also think I'll know whether or not it will happen fast.

Michael Barbaro (17:19)

So he's building this around instinct, kind of his instinct for whether or not Kim is sincere and this might go well. What does that mentality from Trump tell us about what to expect to see at this encounter?

Mark Landler (17:36)

Well, I think it tells us a couple of things. First, President Trump is going to approach this with a great deal of flexibility. He's already said publicly that he views this as a process. It's not a single meeting that's meant to produce a definitive outcome. He views this as the first of multiple meetings, maybe many meetings. The second thing to expect is that I think this is really very much about the two leaders meeting and shaking hands. And I think what's notable about the way that this meeting is scheduled to unfold is that the photo op, the two leaders shaking hands in front of a wall of cameras, is going to happen at the very beginning of the session. So that in some sense that act is more important, is more significant to President Trump than the substance, the actual conversation that follows it. And I think this will allow President Trump to declare some kind of victory, some kind of success, regardless of what he and Kim actually talk about. Because it's the act of meeting that's really for him, the most important thing. And so for me as a reporter following this event, the big question is what else is going to happen aside from this photo opportunity? Will there be a substantial conversation? Will there be a commitment on the North Korean side? Will there be a corresponding commitment on the American side? Or will it really just be the most extravagant photo opportunity of the year?

Michael Barbaro (19:19)

Critics say it's just a photo op. What do you tell them?

Donald Trump (19:23)

Well, it's going to be much more than a photo op. I think it's a process. I've told you that many times before. I think it's not a one meeting deal. It would be wonderful if it were. You know, they've been doing this for a long time. There's been a lot of enemies out there, a lot of dislike, a lot of hatred between countries. This will not be just a photo op. This will be at a minimum, we'll start with perhaps a good relationship. And that's something that's very important toward the ultimate making of a deal. I'd love to say it could happen in one deal. Maybe it can. They have to denuke. If they don't denuclearize, that will not be be acceptable.

Michael Barbaro (20:00)

Mark, I'm struck by how flexible and open minded Trump is being with North Korea, this long time determined enemy, and how rigid he was with our oldest allies over at the G7. How do you explain the discrepancies here? What do you make of it?

Mark Landler (20:23)

I think at one level this is just Trump being a disruptor, Trump flouting conventional wisdom, Trump breaking all the rules. But on another level, I think this is actually his theme of America first. In practice, I think President Trump views his relationships with these countries in terms of what does it gain America in the moment. So, for example, going hard on our allies, on trade is to America's short term advantage in his view. Likewise, embracing North Korea, as he is going to do here in Singapore this week, he believes is to America's advantage. And if the price of that is throwing our allies under the bus or cozying up to a brutal dictator, he's willing to do that because his view of American foreign policy is at heart transactional. He's interested in making immediate gains. He's not interested in spending some long term positioning of the United States in world affairs. He's really trying to score one victory at a time.

Michael Barbaro (21:30)

Right. It's kind of America first in extreme or America first no matter the long term cost, because it might mean that today, you know, history be damned, we forsake our oldest allies like Britain or France and treat our deepest enemy, North Korea, as a friend because that's what seems in the moment to be best for America.

Mark Landler (21:57)

That's right. And I think the flaw in the argument is that it doesn't take into account what the long term risks and costs are. So in the case of Europe, picking a battle with Germany, France and England on trade could lead to some long term costs, not just on trade, but in other parts of our relationship. And likewise, being too accommodating to North Korea in this week's summit meeting could lead to costs down the road, particularly if the North Koreans take advantage of the United States or string us along in some nuclear negotiation that goes on forever. So these short term victories carry in them long term costs. And that's, of course, the great risk of the America first strategy.

Michael Barbaro (22:48)

And yet this approach to America first, despite the risks that it poses, it has allowed the president of the United States to meet with the leader of North Korea for the first time. So arguably, isn't it working?

Mark Landler (23:07)

Well, this is a very interesting question. I mean, it is very easy to take shots at President Trump because he is so unprepared, because he is so driven by ego and vanity and his sense of self. But these very same qualities have, as you say, allowed President Trump to get farther than any of his predecessors did in dealing with the North Korean leader. So to some extent, you sort of have to withhold judgment and wait and see whether breaking all the rules and proceeding in this idiosyncratic way actually produces, you know, an unprecedented outcome. I think it's a long shot in the case of North Korea, but I wouldn't exclude it. And I think all of us who are here in Singapore are going to sort of be, as I said earlier, withholding judgment to see whether this very unusual experiment produces results.

Michael Barbaro (24:12)

Mark, thank you very much. We'll be in touch shortly after the meeting.

Mark Landler (24:18)

Thank you. Michael.

Michael Barbaro (24:32)

Here'S what else you need to.

Donald Trump (24:34)

Know Today, he is not going to.

Michael Barbaro (24:35)

Permit any show of weakness on the.

Donald Trump (24:39)

Trip to negotiate with North Korea, nor should he.

Michael Barbaro (24:43)

So this was about North Korea?

Mark Landler (24:44)

Of course it was.

Donald Trump (24:45)

In large part.

Michael Barbaro (24:46)

So because Trudeau said that as Trump was going to Singapore, one thing leads to another.

Donald Trump (24:51)

Oh, I see.

Mark Landler (24:51)

Okay.

Donald Trump (24:52)

They are all related.

Michael Barbaro (24:54)

On Sunday, in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, President Trump's top economic adviser Larry Kudlow connected the president's decision to pull out of the G7 statement to his upcoming meeting with Kim Jong Un. Kudlow said that Trudeau's comments had made Trump appear weak going into tomorrow's summit.

Donald Trump (25:15)

You just don't behave that way.

Michael Barbaro (25:17)

Okay? It's a betrayal, essentially. Double crossing. Not just double crossing President Trump, but.

Donald Trump (25:23)

The other members of the G7 who were working together and pulling together this communique. You never get everything you want.

Mark Landler (25:32)

There are compromises along the way.

Donald Trump (25:35)

President Trump played that process in good faith.

Michael Barbaro (25:44)

That's it for the Daily. I'm Michael Barbara. See you tomorrow. And now a next level moment from AT&T business. Say you've sent out a gigantic shipment of pillows and they need to be there in time for International Sleep day.

Mark Landler (26:02)

You've got AT and T5G so you're.

Michael Barbaro (26:04)

Fully confident, but the vendor isn't responding.

Mark Landler (26:07)

And International Sleep Day is tomorrow.

Michael Barbaro (26:09)

Luckily, AT&T 5G lets you deal with any issues with ease. So the pillows will get delivered and everyone can sleep soundly, especially you. AT&T5G requires a compatible plan and device coverage not available everywhere.

Mark Landler (26:20)

Learn more@att.com 5G Network.