NEWSWEEK
President Joe Biden faces pushback after reports that the president might not attend a peace summit for Ukraine next month due to a fundraiser in California scheduled for the same weekend.
According to people close to the matter who spoke with Bloomberg, Biden plans to miss the peace discussions hosted by Switzerland to attend a campaign event in Los Angeles on June 15. The event will feature former President Barack Obama, late-night talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel, and Hollywood stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
Bloomberg’s sources, who asked not to be named, said that Biden is planning on flying straight from a Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy scheduled June 13 to June 15 to make it to the campaign event, bypassing the Swiss meeting scheduled for June 15 and June 16. Biden is the only G7 leader who has not accepted Switzerland’s invitation. Vice President Kamala Harris is also not scheduled to attend the peace summit, according to Bloomberg’s report.
Newsweek was not able to independently verify Bloomberg’s report regarding Biden’s schedule, and an email was sent to the White House Press Office on Friday seeking comment.
The apparent clash in Biden’s schedule is proving to be a public relations problem as the president approaches the election in November. Biden has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022, but has begun to shift more of his focus on reelection efforts. Preliminary polling shows Biden in a tight race with former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
Several users on X, formerly Twitter, expressed discontent over reports that Biden may miss the peace summit to attend the Los Angeles event. Doug Klain, policy analyst at nonprofit Razom for Ukraine, posted to X on Friday afternoon that the summit “was specifically timed to make it easy for G7 leaders departing their summit to join.”
“Biden missing it for a fundraiser wouldn’t just be ridiculous, it would deeply undermine Ukraine’s position in the war and in potential future negotiations,” Klain added.
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