The 46th G7 summit of the leaders of the
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...
was originally scheduled for June 10–12, 2020, at
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat for the president of the United States of America. It is located in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont and Emmitsburg, about north-northwe ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. However, the summit was canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Planned venue
Attempt to hold summit at Trump resort
The choice of the summit's location was controversial. The
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
initially vetted ten sites for the summit and reduced that list to four (in Hawaii, Utah, California, and North Carolina).
They then eliminated the California and North Carolina sites, and added, at United States president
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's direction, the option of hosting at
Trump National Doral in Miami.
On October 17, 2019, Trump's acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney
John Michael Mulvaney (born July 21, 1967) is an American politician who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from February 2017 until March 2020, and as acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2019 until March ...
announced the summit would be held at the Trump National Doral, dismissing concerns about potential conflict of interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
s and the prospect of a president personally profiting from an official event.[ Trump initially touted the benefits of using his resort for the conference and called the selection "something very good for our Country" but, two days later, after bipartisan criticism, announced that the G7 summit would no longer be held at Doral, blaming "Media & Democrat Crazed and Irrational Hostility" on his ]Twitter account
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
.
At the time of the announcement, Trump was the target of two lawsuits—'' D.C. and Maryland v. Trump'' and ''CREW v. Trump
''Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Trump'' was a case brought before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs, watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washing ...
''—alleging that he was violating the U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
's foreign
Foreign may refer to:
Government
* Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries
** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government
** Foreign office and foreign minister
* Unit ...
and domestic emoluments clauses because of payments received from the Saudi government and other foreign governments for stays at his Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Legal experts debated whether hosting the G7 at a Trump-owned property would violate the Constitution's emoluments clauses.
Selection of Camp David
On December 3, 2019, it was announced that the summit would be held at Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat for the president of the United States of America. It is located in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont and Emmitsburg, about north-northwe ...
, the country retreat of the President of the United States. The same venue hosted the group's 38th summit in 2012.
Postponements and Cancellation
In response to the coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, Trump canceled the G7 at Camp David and said that the meeting would be conducted by video conference
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
, as in the case of a G7 session held on 16 April 2020. Later, however, Trump suggested that the G7 could be held in person at the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
or Camp David.[Trump delays 'outdated' G7 leaders' summit]
BBC News (May 31, 2020). In late May 2020, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
declined Trump's invitation to attend a G7 summit in late June, citing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. French President Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
, who is closely aligned with Merkel, made a phone call to Trump stating that the entire G7 should be present in person at a summit.[Kevin Liptak]
Inside Trump's decision to delay the G7 meeting
CNN (May 31, 2020). British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
also suggested that he favored an in-person gathering.[ On May 30, 2020, Trump delayed the summit until at least September 2020.][
In August 2020, Trump said that he wanted to delay the summit until after the November 2020 election.] No summit took place subsequently.
Invitees
Trump named India, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, and Russia as potential invitees to the summit, and said "I don't feel that as a G7 it properly represents what's going on in the world. It's a very outdated group of countries."[ Trump's aides said that China would be a subject of G7+ discussions, but not a part of it, and said that Trump intended to use the summit to build an anti-China bloc.][
In calls with Trump in early June 2020, invitations to join the summit were accepted by Australian Prime Minister ]Scott Morrison
Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...
, Brazilian President
The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...
Jair Bolsonaro
Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...
, South Korean President
The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is ...
Moon Jae-in
Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
, and Indian Prime Minister
The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
.
Trump's proposed invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin
On June 2, 2020, Trump initiated a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
offering to invite him to the G7 meeting. (Russia was admitted to the G7 in 1997, but was expelled from the group in 2014 due to its aggressive actions, including the annexation of Crimea.) However, Trump's proposal to invite Putin was staunchly opposed by the UK and Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
said that Russia's "continued disrespect and flaunting of international rules and norms is why it remains outside of the G7 and why it will continue to remain out" and a spokesman for the British government said that Russia should not be readmitted to the group "unless it ceases aggressive and destabilizing activity that threatens the safety of UK citizens and the collective security of our allies."
The European Union agreed that Russia should not be readmitted to the G7, with EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell
Josep Borrell Fontelles (; born 24 April 1947) is a Spanish politician serving as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy since 1 December 2019. A member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he served ...
, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, explaining that Trump did not have the unilateral power to change the permanent membership of the G7 or its scope: "The prerogative of the G7 chair, in this case the United States, is to issue guest invitations -- guest invitations reflect the host's priorities. But changing membership, changing the format on a permanent basis, is not a prerogative of the G7 chair."
On August 10, 2020, Trump said that he had not decided whether to invite Putin, but this eventually became a moot point as the summit did not proceed.[
]
Participants
The planned 46th G7 summit would have been the final summit for Japanese Prime Minister
The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...
Shinzō Abe
Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...
, U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
and Italian Prime Minister
The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...
Giuseppe Conte
Giuseppe Conte (; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy, prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) sin ...
. However, it was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Abe handed over the power to Yoshihide Suga
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2020 to 2021. He had served as Chief Cabinet Secretary during the second administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fro ...
on September 16, 2020; Trump handed over the power to Joe Biden on January 20, 2021; and Conte handed over the power to Mario Draghi
Mario Draghi (; born 3 September 1947) is an Italian economist, academic, banker and civil servant who served as prime minister of Italy from February 2021 to October 2022. Prior to his appointment as prime minister, he served as President of ...
on February 13, 2021.
Participants would have included the leaders of the G7 member states as well as representatives of the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. The President of the European Commission
The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
has been a permanently welcome participant, not a Nation member per se, at all meetings and decision-making since 1981.
Agenda
Climate change
Trump did not take part in the climate change mitigation
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing Greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of greenhouse gases or Carbon sink, removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caus ...
discussions during the 44th meetings held in Canada or the 45th meetings held in France. When the administration announced that the 46th meetings were to be held at the Trump property in Florida, Trump's acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney
John Michael Mulvaney (born July 21, 1967) is an American politician who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from February 2017 until March 2020, and as acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2019 until March ...
said, "climate change will not be on the agenda." President Trump's position on the 2015 Paris Climate Accord became stronger at the 2020 G20 meeting, following his US election defeat in November 2020.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:G7 summit,46
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
2020 conferences
2020 in international relations
2020 in Maryland
2020 in American politics
Diplomatic conferences in the United States
21st-century diplomatic conferences (Global)
June 2020 events in the United States
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Events cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States