Trump on G7: 'Russia Should Be in This Meeting'

President Trump is calling for Russia to be reinstated to the leading group of industrialized nations, now known as the Group of Seven, the AP reports. "Now, I love our country. I have been Russia's worst nightmare," Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House Friday morning as he prepared to leave for the G7 summit in Canada, per Politico. "But with that being said, Russia should be in this meeting. Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting?" He added: "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. They should let Russia come back in. Because we should have Russia at the negotiating table."

Russia was ousted from the elite group in 2014 as punishment for President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea and its support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. The suspension was supported by the other members of the group: the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK. CNN notes Trump's remarks come after a public Twitter battle Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over new tariffs the US has hit its allies with for "national security" purposes.

(More President Trump stories.)