Trump to host G-7 summit at his golf resort, climate change 'not on agenda'

The 46th G7 summit that will take place in 2020 will be held at the Trump National Doral Golf Resort in Miami, Florida, the president's acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said on Thursday.

The leaders' summit is to take place in the United States, and Trump had previously suggested hosting it at one of his own golf clubs—drawing immediate criticism that he is profiteering from his presidency.

Mulvaney said, however, that "Donald Trump's brand is probably strong enough as it  is" and that he would not profit from it, nor require a branding boost. The summit is scheduled to be held through June 10 and 12, 2020.

In August, on the last day of the G-7 summit that was held in Biarritz, France, Trump said that the Doral resort was an ideal location for the event, saying "It's a great place. It's got tremendous acreage, many hundreds of acres, so we  can handle whatever happens."

Trump's National Doral Miami resort is located 13 km from the Miami Airport, something the President mentioned in his impromptu pitch to hold the event at his resort as well. "It's right next to the airport, meaning a few minutes away... plus it has buildings that have 50 to 70 units in them, so each delegation can have its own building...They love the location of the hotel...It's Miami," Trump said.

In a statement that could spur further controversy, however, Mulvaney said that "Climate change will not be on the agenda" at the summit.

Earlier this year, Trump skipped a session on climate change at the G-7, making himself the only world leader to do so at the event.

Trump has long been criticised for his policy stance on climate change, having pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement and stated in 2013 that "climate change was a hoax invented by the Chinese to make the US manufacturing less competitive."

With inputs from PTI