U.S. President Donald Trump will cancel an in-person G7 summit at Camp David this summer and hold a video conference instead.
Gloria Tso reports.
Trump cancels in-person G7 summit at Camp David
U.S. President Donald Trump will cancel an in-person meeting of G7 leaders this summer.
Instead, he'll hold a video conference.
The 46th G7 summit was supposed to take place at the Camp David retreat in Maryland in June.
But as countries around the world shut their borders and ban travel to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the White House said Thursday (March 19) the G7 will switch to video for the foreseeable future.
Trump had already held a teleconference with G7 leaders earlier this week.
Larry Kudlow, who serves as Trump's G7 organizer, informed his counterparts about the move, saying it allowed, quote, "each country to focus all of its resources on responding to the health and economic challenges of COVID-19." The G7 includes advanced economies like Italy and Japan.
It usually brings in huge government delegations as well as journalists from across the globe.
Trump had intended to focus this year's summit on the economy, forgoing topics that usually top the agenda, like climate change.
But the coronavirus may have already thrown a wrench in those plans, and incited tension between G7 members.
Last week, Trump irritated European leaders by instituting a travel ban on its citizens ...without letting them know beforehand.