The White House said yesterday that President Donald Trump will cancel a personal meeting of the Group of Seven leaders at Camp David in June due to the Coronavirus, and instead will hold a video conference. The decision comes as countries around the world close their borders and ban travel to stop the spread of the virus.
Trump held a video conference with the leaders of the world's major industrialized countries earlier this week and plans to repeat it in April, May and June.
The White House views the change as part of its anti-proliferation efforts to fight the virus. Countries usually send large delegations with their leaders to the G-7 summits, and journalists from all over the world gather to cover their meetings as well.
Trump had intended to focus the G7 meeting on the economy, avoiding traditional topics that often top the agenda such as climate change, and he had initially planned to host a group of leaders on one of his properties in Florida but canceled these plans after criticizing that he would make money financially from the meeting.
The G7 consists of the United States, Italy, Japan, Canada, France, Germany and Britain in addition to the European Union. Trump has angered Europe by imposing a travel ban on its citizens without first alerting European leaders. It should be noted that Europe has become the epicenter of the Coronavirus.
