From Canada to Singapore: President Trump’s busy weekend starts today

US President Donald Trump will be in the middle of an absorbing schedule abroad starting Friday, June 8, when the G7 summit will take off in Quebec, Canada, till June 12, when he will meet North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore in a summit first of its kind.

Trump played the nationalism card on Thursday, June 7, when he tweeted saying that he was going to Canada to fight for America's trade interests and also to Singapore to meet Kim and settle the nuclear problem but yet back home, he was being targeted under the "Witch Hunt" - the ongoing probe into the alleged collusion of Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign with Russia. "Isn't it Ironic?" Trump asked.

Trump, as per a Washington Post report, wasn't happy about flying to Canada for he believes that going there for two days will distract him from the summit with Kim.

The US president has escalated things with the Canadian government over the trade tariffs to the extreme and there is every possibility that the G7 summit this year turning out to be a tense affair between Trump and other leaders of the group who have expressed their disappointment over Trump's aggressive posture on trade.

Singapore summit looks more lucrative for Trump

Trump is more concerned about scoring a brownie point at the Singapore summit - something that might even push him for a Nobel in Peace - and it is natural that he would focus more on a one-to-one summit where the chances of diplomatic returns are bigger than one where he would have to take on an entire group of opponent.

Besides Trudeau, Trump also doesn't have a rosy relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Premier Theresa May and these factors have turned him off.

The Washington Post report also said that there were staff-level discussions for several days on whether Trump might send Vice President Mike Pence to G7 instead of himself going to it. He had done something similar in April when Pence went instead of him to a summit of Latin American leaders in Peru. Then, the US president was preparing for conducting missile strikes against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

However, Trump was convinced that his presence was key at the G7 summit, according to White House officials, said the Post.

"Trump is a homebody president, preferring to sleep in the White House - or at one of his signature properties - than in hotels, so is generally reluctant to take long journeys. Furthermore, he prefers visiting places where he is feted - such as on his trips last year to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Beijing and Paris - over attending summits where the attending leaders are treated as equals," the Post report added.

Trump to fly to Singapore from Quebec

Trump will fly directly from Quebec to Singapore on Saturday, June 9, for the historic summit - covering almost 14,000 kilometres.

That Trump was possessed with thoughts on the Singapore summit prior to his Canada trip became evident when he blasted the Democrats on Twitter over his meeting with Kim.

He tweeted: "Obama, Schumer and Pelosi did NOTHING about North Korea, and now weak on Crime, High Tax Schumer is telling me what to do at the Summit the Dems could never set up. Schumer failed with North Korea and Iran, we don't need his advice!"

Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader said on Wednesday, June 6, on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" that they couldn't afford to be just anti-Trump saying: "He makes the anti-Trump argument himself."