CANADA/CHINA/G20/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Buenos AiresIf the G20 were a music festival, you’d be stressing about not being there. The once snooze-worthy global power fest now looks like diplomacy on steroids. Where else — even pay-per-view pales in comparison — will you get so many heavyweights waiting to face off: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump; Donald Trump and Xi Jinping; Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau and Mexico to see if they can sign Trump’s revamped NAFTA agreement, to name just three. Trump, who normally shuns international travel, is turning the event into a one-stop diplomatic shop, with seven bilateral meetings scheduled in 48 hours. Not yet on the agenda: a meeting between Trump and Theresa May, but it will be worth watching the body language when they do cross paths. Just this week, Trump publicly criticized her Brexit deal, saying it makes the prospect of a trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom post-Brexit unlikely. If you are minnow, even a big one like May, Trump is a dangerous ally, even on a good day. Just ask German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She’s down for a one-on-one with Trump, and it’s hard to remember the last time he didn’t try to undercut her just before they met.”
–Nic Robertson, “The G20 summit is a glimpse at the future world order,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, November 29, 2018 6:18 am