Trump postpones 'outdated' G-7, wants to bring Russia back into an expanded field

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

President Trump isn't considered a big fan of multilateral diplomacy, and he's often willing to set a separate course for the United States and operate outside the traditional international system. But, when it comes to the Group of Seven, the U.S. president actually want to expand the talks to include several other countries.

Trump on Saturday postponed the G-7 summit, which he had hoped to host in Washington, D.C., at the end of June, until at least September. Both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to commit to attending over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, but Trump didn't indicate their potential absences were the primary reasons for his decision.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.