President Trump said Saturday night that he’s trying to add Russia, India, South Korea and Australia to the Group of 7 nations summit and will postpone the meeting until at least September.
“I’m postponing it because I don’t feel as a G-7 it probably represents what’s going on in the world. It’s a very outdated group of countries,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We want Australia, we want India, we want South Korea. That’s a nice group of countries right there.”
White House strategic communications director Alyssa Farah said the proposal is bringing together traditional U.S. allies to talk about how to deal with the future of China. The administration is increasingly clashing with China over issues such as the coronavirus and Hong Kong.
The president had been planning to host the G-7 summit at the White House in late June, or partly at Camp David, amid discussions with other heads of state about how to handle the gathering during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Trump later described his new proposal as the “G-10 or G-11” said he’s “roughly” broached the idea with the leaders of the four countries he’d like to add. “Maybe I’ll do it after the election,” he said, adding that he could also host the gathering around the time of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City in September.
