Trump proposes in-person G7 summit
WASHINGTON (AFP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is considering hosting world leaders for the annual G7 summit at his Camp David retreat despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, as the global death toll soared past 325,000.
Trump, who is seeking to revive the U.S. economy and his political fortunes ahead of the November election, also lashed out again at China, saying its “incompetence” was responsible for “this mass Worldwide killing.”
There was encouraging news, meanwhile, on the scientific front as two studies on monkeys published Wednesday offered hope that humans can develop protective immunity to the novel coronavirus.
Trump said in a tweet that the United States was “Transitioning back to Greatness” and he may hold the G7 in June in person, instead of remotely by videoconference as proposed previously.
“I am considering rescheduling the G7, on the same or similar date, in Washington, D.C., at the legendary Camp David,” he said.
“The other members are also beginning their COMEBACK. It would be a great sign to all — normalization!”
G7 countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — take turns organizing the annual gathering.
French President Emmanuel
Macron said he would attend the Camp David summit if “health conditions allow,” his office said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would “wait and see what happens.”
Trump, who has blamed China for failing to contain the outbreak after it originated in the city of Wuhan late last year, attacked Beijing in another tweet.
“It was the ‘incompetence of China’ and nothing else, that did this mass Worldwide killing,” he tweeted.
Trump on Monday made the surprise announcement that he is taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that his own government experts say is not suitable for fighting the novel coronavirus.