For an incumbent, President Donald Trump will not have the traditionally immensely opportunistic forum in September 2020 at the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York City from which to visibly remind voters as to his role as foreign policy-maker-in-chief. 

The White House has indicated the President will deliver an in-person address to a limited audience (capacity is approximately 2,000 so likely 10% to 25% of seats will be occupied per COVID-19 distancing protocols). 

Also missing from March 2020 through September 2020 are the much-leveraged for positive reporting meetings by President Trump with heads of state and heads of government, and participation in bilateral and multilateral meetings in the United States and other countries.  The Trump Administration continues to privately advocate, and do so with vigor, for heads of state and heads of government to visit The White House.

One of the most important gatherings absent thus far and scheduled in the United States is for members of the Group of Seven (G7) which includes the United States, France, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan and Italy.

President Trump continues to report that a meeting of the G7 will be held in-person prior to 3 November 2020.  One challenge is none of the G7 have expressed a preference for the re-election of President Trump; so they are in no hurry to do anything to assist him with a useful optic. NOTE: On 10 August 2020, President Trump confirmed that the G7 meeting would be held after 3 November 2020.

The presidential nominee of the opposing party, this year former Vice President Joe Biden, is traditionally accorded perfunctory meetings with attending heads of state and heads of government during the United Nations General Assembly. 

Former Vice President Biden, however, a known commodity among members of the United Nations, would have a far better optic through which to project his “fitness for office” with meetings complete with smiles, firm handshakes, shoulder patting, and platitudes.