Donald Trump Will Leave G-7 Early and Avoid Meeting Angry Allies Who Want to Talk About Climate Change and Gender

After key U.S. allies lashed out at President Donald Trump for his trade policies this week, the White House announced that the president would be leaving Saturday's G-7 meeting in Canada early.

"President Trump will depart the G-7 Summit at Charlevoix at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, following the session on Women's Empowerment. The president will travel directly to Singapore from Canada in anticipation of his upcoming meeting with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un Tuesday," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.

"G-7 Sherpa and Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs Everett Eissenstat will represent the United States for the remaining G-7 sessions," she added.

The annual G-7 (Group of Seven) meeting is scheduled to take place in Quebec on Friday and Saturday. The event brings together the world's foremost economic powerhouses, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Representatives of the European Union will also be in attendance over the weekend.

Trump's early departure means that he will skip key meetings on climate change and will miss the group photo world leaders take at the end of the event. It also means he will be able to avoid a showdown with allies like Canada and France, who are angry with Trump's isolationist policies and decision to impose harsh tariffs on trade and aluminum. Leaders were also expected to use the event to raise contentious issues like U.S. participation in the Iran nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and U.S. participation in international climate treaties.

World leaders generally attempt to sign an agreement at the end of the G-7 event to demonstrate their commitment to solving a particular issue. Trump, who was expected to play the role of a spoiler, will also be absent from that.

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron, a leader who is usually friendly with Trump, implied that the liberal international alliance doesn't need the United States to make a deal.

"The American President may not mind being isolated, but neither do we mind signing a 6 country agreement if need be. Because these 6 countries represent values, they represent an economic market which has the weight of history behind it and which is now a true international force," French President Emmanuel Macron Tweeted Thursday.

Staffers working on the G-7 summit have reportedly started to joke that the meeting should be called the G-6 plus one.