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Did Trump really attend G20 this year? POTUS slams 'fake media' for saying he missed summit on Covid-19 for golf

The reports in media stated that he participated in his final Group of 20 summit, but skipped the conference centered around the pandemic

A day after media worldwide reported that President Donald Trump skipped a special side-conference during the G20 meeting, focused on the pandemic, and instead played golf, the Republican denied the reports. Trump took to Twitter on Sunday, November 22, to deny the reports, claiming the "Fake News Media failed" to report that he attended the virtual G20 session.

"Just arrived at Virtual G20. Was here yesterday also (early), but some of the Fake News Media failed to report it accurately — as usual. My speech is available (they said I didn’t make a speech)," Trump tweeted.

The reports in media, however, stated that he participated in his final Group of 20 summit on Saturday, but he skipped the conference centered around the pandemic and was spotted at his golf course outside Washington around the same time. Trump's tweet came after it was unclear the whole week whether he would attend this year's G20, which has mostly been conducted virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.

Trump, when the summit started, was among the nearly two dozen world leaders on the virtual screen. The Republican made his appearance from the White House situation room, according to CNN. However, nearly 13 minutes into the summit, the president began writing tweets concerning his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections. Trump, by 10 am ET, left the White House to attend a session of golf at his club outside Washington DC. The president delivered his main speech at the summit around 8 am local time on Saturday according to the White House.

The side-conference on "pandemic preparedness" reportedly featured remarks from French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and several other world leaders. Trump, however, did not participate in it.

Shortly after Trump's tweet on November 22, several social media users slammed him for playing golf during the coronavirus conference. One wrote: "You GOLFED while the G20 met on pandemic preparedness when America LEADS THE WORLD with 260,000 DEATHS, 11 MILLION INFECTIONS, 200,000 new cases yesterday, 1962 deaths yesterday, and 80,000 hospitalizations. You’re an arrogant, narcissistic, inhumane, lying, racist, demagogue." Another wrote: "Facts: Trump spent less than two hours at yesterday's sessions — according to aides, he 'was bored' — he skipped a vital joint discussion on the pandemic to go golfing, for the 315th time. - he's leaving the summit early again today to go golfing, for the 316th time."

Trump, during his speech at the summit, spoke of the "need to work together to restore strong economic growth and jobs as we overcome the Covid-19 pandemic," according to White House statement issued concerning the president's speech at the virtual summit. Trump told the world leaders of "the aggressive actions and safety measures" his administration had taken and noted the "pioneer groundbreaking treatments”, vaccines and therapies developed at "record-setting speed" in the country.

“It’s been a great honor to work with you, and I look forward to working with you again for a long time,” he told the summit. Trump's statement came at a time when nearly every G20 leader has congratulated President-elect Joe Biden for winning the 2020 presidential elections, either through public remarks or personal phone conversation.