Politics

Trump won’t attend UN General Assembly in person due to COVID-19

Like other world leaders during the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump will not travel to the Big Apple to attend next week’s UN General Assembly, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has confirmed.

But it remained unclear in what way the president would take part in the gathering for the 75th General Assembly, which is going virtual amid the global outbreak, according to reports.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Thursday that the organization is not expecting any head of state or government to visit New York this year amid the pandemic, according to Politico.

A State Department email seen by the news outlet said that neither Trump nor Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be traveling to the city.

“Dignitary Protection does not have any planned protection details planned for UNGA 75,” the email said, according to Politico. “In the event that we have a detail pop up it will be managed as we normally do for visits to NYC throughout the year.”

Trump, who as far back as July expressed interest in attending the event, was the last world leader who was still considering being there in person, the outlet reported.

“This is the 75th anniversary (of the U.N.), so it makes it even more special,” US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said on July 30, according to Politico.

All other world leaders have announced they would take part virtually this year, rather than comply with a required 14-day quarantine for visitors from most parts of the country and world.

“It made it impossible for any leader to come,” said UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkır.

The UN has asked that countries submit pre-recorded speech videos by Friday, but the White House has not yet submitted one, according to Politico.