US President Donald Trump, who participated in his last Group of 20 summit on Saturday, skipped a special side conference focused on the coronavirus pandemic and was later spotted on his golf course outside Washington.
Throughout the week it was not clear if Trump would be present at the G20 of the year, which is mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When the summit began, Trump was among nearly two dozen world leaders turning out from the White House situation room, CNN reported.
Yet just 13 minutes from the summit, Trump was sending out tweets focused on his efforts to overturn the results of the US presidential election.
At 10 am ET, the president had left the White House on his way to his namesake golf club outside of Washington DC.
He was there when the “side event on pandemic preparedness” began, with comments from French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and several other world leaders. Trump did not participate.
He will join another G20 session on Sunday morning, according to the White House calendar. But that’s probably the last time Trump will meet at a summit with other world leaders as the end of his presidency draws near.
CNN reported that Trump’s influence on the global stage is at a low point after losing the election. Most of the other G20 leaders have congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on his victory, with one notable exception in Russian President Vladimir Putin.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that Trump in his remarks “discussed with other world leaders the need to work together to restore strong economic growth and jobs as we overcome the Covid-19 pandemic.”
During his remarks, President Trump highlighted how the United States brought together all the resources at its disposal to respond to the crisis, as well as America’s unprecedented economic recovery based on tax and regulatory cuts, energy independence, and fair trade. offers, ”the spokeswoman said in a statement.
“He spoke about the aggressive actions and security measures the United States took to protect the vulnerable, pioneering and innovative treatments, and developing vaccines and therapies at record speed, saving millions of lives. President Trump also reaffirmed the importance of the G20 working together for future economic growth and prosperity, “he added.
.
