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‘I’m the boss’ to Meloni’s serious talk: Five awkward moments from Trump’s appearance at the G7 summit

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U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for the official greeting during the G7 summit, in Evian, France, on June 15, 2026.

The G7 summit will wrap up today after the leaders of some of the world’s most powerful countries conclude their meeting in Évian-les-Bains, France, after discussing major international issues, including the wars in Iran and Ukraine, trade and other economic issues.

French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting the summit, but it’s Donald Trump who drew much of the attention following several slightly awkward moments involving the U.S. president. Here are just a few of them.

Meloni gets serious

In a video shared widely on social media, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appears to be gesturing animatedly while speaking to Trump.

The clip shows Meloni pointing at Trump, who stands silent next to her, apparently waiting for her to finish talking, before she turns her back on the president.

Whether she was having a strong word or it was just a bit of characteristic Italian body language is hard to know.

While Meloni was previously considered a Trump ally, the pair’s relationship has been tense after she criticized the U.S. president for lashing out at the pope. Trump was then quoted in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in April saying: “I’m shocked by (Meloni). I thought she had courage. I was wrong.”

However, that might now be behind them. Meloni was overheard at the summit on Tuesday telling German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, “We have always been friends,” when talking about Trump.

Walking the wrong way

Another awkward video from G7 proceedings shows Trump walking off in the wrong direction after a photo-op with other world leaders.

Standing between French President Emmanuel Macron and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Trump poses before quickly walking off to the left of the stage, leaving his counterparts still mingling around him.

Several people can be heard saying “other side” to the U.S. president, while Macron signals in the opposite direction. Trump proceeds to follow the French president away — but not before pausing to give a quick thumbs-up to the camera.

Standing alone

The same moment produced a series of photos of Trump apparently standing awkwardly alone, while other leaders at the G7 summit mingle and shake hands.

Starmer gets snubbed

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been forced to deny that he was snubbed by Trump after the pair didn’t have a bilateral meeting at the summit.

On Tuesday, Starmer had been caught on a hot mic asking: “Are they having a meeting?” while Trump, Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskyy were absent. Meanwhile, videos circulating online appear to show Trump refusing to acknowledge that Starmer is standing next to him while he shakes hands with others.

However, a full video of Trump’s day two arrival shows that he does in fact shake hands with Starmer, before speaking to other leaders at the summit.

Starmer has since said he had a series of “very productive, very good conversations” with the U.S. president.

“I’m the boss”

After arriving at the final morning session of the three-day summit in France, Trump announced, “I’m the boss” to the room of leaders who were already in their seats.

The statement was met with laughter, while Macron appeared to take the comment with good humour, asking the U.S. president, “How are you?”

“Good, thank you,” replied Trump, before patting Keir Starmer’s shoulder and taking a seat between the U.K. Prime Minister and Macron.

A different kind of Macron handshake

Trump is well known for his signature long handshakes, and he and Macron often make a show of their intense, tug-of-war-like greetings (one of which, in 2017, went on for 30 seconds).

But this time it was Macron’s wife, Brigitte Macron, who was on the receiving end.

Footage of his arrival at the summit shows Trump grasping Brigitte’s hand for 13 seconds, before taking her hand once again while talking to the couple.

Trump previously mocked the Macrons’ marriage, and was heard saying at an event in April, “I called up France, Macron, whose wife treats him extremely badly, [he is] still recovering from the right to the jaw.” The comment was an apparent reference to a video in which Brigitte appeared to push her husband’s face as they disembarked a plane.

Macron later described Trump’s remarks as “neither elegant nor up to standard.”

A missed photo opportunity

In yet another viral video from the summit, Trump appeared to be completely unaware that a photo was being taken as he sat around a table with his fellow leaders.

While Macron urged his guests to pose for a photo, the U.S. President didn’t appear to look at the camera or even move at all, despite the leaders around him turning their chairs for the photo opportunity.

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