World Moves on From Trump, Yet Multilateralism Is Left Struggling
- G-20 in Saudi Arabia ends as many leaders appear distracted
- Big summits in 2021 during pandemic will fall on Italy, U.K.
Donald Trump golfs on Sunday.
Photographer: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
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One of the starkest moments from the virtual Group of Twenty came when U.S. President Donald Trump skipped a session on the pandemic to hit the golf course. Just as telling was how many other leaders seemed checked out.
The gathering of the world’s top economies in Saudi Arabia was always going to be uncomfortable: The first Arab nation to assume the presidency, with a question mark hanging over it after the murder of government critic Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Then came the devastation unleashed by the coronavirus that turned a source of national pride into a low-key affair that laid bare the limitations of global cooperation when so many were looking inwards.