Trump meets Trudeau: Canadian prime minister comes to the White House for a day for trade talks – giving the president a grip and grin before their meeting in the Oval Office
Trump is taking his first step toward fulfilling a promise to strike a better deal for U.S. workers by renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement
By Francesca Chambers, White House Correspondent
DailyMail.com
13 February 2017
President Donald Trump is taking his first step toward fulfilling a promise to strike a better deal for U.S. workers by renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Trump’s hosting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today at the White House.
The leaders of the neighboring nations have never met, and Trump greeted Trudeau, who has been critical of the American president’s travel ban, with handshake and a pat on the shoulder.
Trudeau gripped Trump’s hand and his left shoulder momentarily before they disappeared into the West Wing for a photo op in the Oval Office before a day of talks.
In the Oval, Trump barely said a word to Trudeau as a hoard of photographer snapped pictures.
A relaxed Trudeau lounged in a chair to Trump’s right, while the president looked to his left and tapped his fingers with impatience.
‘I think they might want a handshake,’ Trump finally, said, reaching over to grab Trudeau’s hand before aides kicked out the press.
Three days ago, Trump rolled out the red carpet for Japan’s prime minister, whom he’d hosted in New York on a previous occasion, giving him a hug and a handhold outside the exterior of the White House and an extra long hand shake inside.
The billionaire paid out of pocket for Shinzo Abe and his wife to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate, solidifying their working relationship.
Trudeau has said he expects to ‘find a lot of common ground’ with the Republican president, despite their disagreements over trade and differing political ideologies.
The Canadian PM was supportive of Barack Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership and said in November he’d ‘miss’ his American counterpart.
Trump believes that TPP, which he nixed his first few days in office, and NAFTA have been bad for American workers and is expected to talk about restructuring free trade between the U.S. and its neighbor to the north today.
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