Wednesday, January 28, 2026
ADVT 
National

Despite pandemic, Trump muses about resuming plan for in-person G7 meetings

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 May, 2020 07:23 PM
  • Despite pandemic, Trump muses about resuming plan for in-person G7 meetings

Donald Trump is contemplating whether to resurrect plans to host G7 leaders at the Camp David presidential retreat next month.

The U.S. president tweeted Wednesday about holding the meeting on or near the original June 10-12 timeline at the famous rural retreat, which is in Maryland about an hour's drive north of the U.S. capital.

"Now that our Country is 'Transitioning back to Greatness,' I am considering rescheduling the G7, on the same or similar date, in Washington, D.C., at the legendary Camp David," Trump wrote.

"The other members are also beginning their COMEBACK. It would be a great sign to all — normalization!"

With the U.S. scheduled to play host to the annual G7 this year, the administration's original plan to host the gathering at the Trump-owned Doral golf resort in Miami was abandoned last fall after critics accused the president of seeking to profit off the meeting.

But the subsequent plan to move the meeting to Camp David was initially thwarted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed support Wednesday for the notion of G7 leaders sharing ideas, even if he was noncommittal about meeting in person. The group did gather for a videoconference call last month, he noted before suggesting science and prudence should determine the best course of action going forward.

"We're going to need to keep talking about not just how we get through this COVID-19 pandemic, but how we restore the global economy to its rightful activities," Trudeau said.

"We'll certainly take a look at what the U.S. is proposing as host of the G7 to see what kind of measures will be in place to keep people safe, what kind of recommendations the experts are giving in terms of how that might function."

Security experts, however, say it's hard to believe an in-person meeting in June would be feasible.

"I don't, nor do I think many other leaders would come," said Brett Bruen, a former diplomat and White House adviser under former president Barack Obama.

MORE National ARTICLES

Liz Weston: Is your financial adviser really helping you?

Liz Weston: Is your financial adviser really helping you?
Stock market crashes don’t just test investors’ mettle. Abrupt downturns also can reveal what kind of financial adviser you have.   Some people will discover, to their horror, that they’ve been dealing with outright crooks. Ponzi schemes are among the cons that fall apart when markets do, as investors try to pull their money out and discover it’s gone.

Liz Weston: Is your financial adviser really helping you?

Liberals, Bloc, NDP, Greens approve once-a-week sittings in House of Commons

Liberals, Bloc, NDP, Greens approve once-a-week sittings in House of Commons
OTTAWA - The Conservatives' bid to have Parliament sit in person several times a week throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been thwarted by the combined forces of the governing Liberals and other opposition parties.

Liberals, Bloc, NDP, Greens approve once-a-week sittings in House of Commons

The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada
The latest news on the COVID-19 global pandemic (all times Eastern):

The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

Liberals look to ease access to media aid

Liberals look to ease access to media aid
OTTAWA - The federal government's planned changes to its financial aid for news outlets in Canada should allow more of them to qualify for the financial help, a news-industry association says.

Liberals look to ease access to media aid

Protesters resist U.S. lockdowns, backed by Trump

Protesters resist U.S. lockdowns, backed by Trump
WASHINGTON - The partisan cracks in America's collective effort to combat COVID-19 are growing wider by the day — growing, some say, not due to grassroots sentiment but by political forces both within and outside the United States.

Protesters resist U.S. lockdowns, backed by Trump

Facebook takes Canada's privacy czar to court over personal data probe

Facebook takes Canada's privacy czar to court over personal data probe
OTTAWA - Facebook wants a judge to toss out the federal privacy watchdog's finding that the social media giant's lax practices allowed personal data to be used for political purposes.

Facebook takes Canada's privacy czar to court over personal data probe