President Joe Biden is reportedly skipping a major United Nations climate summit that starts Thursday and will welcome leaders from nearly 200 countries, a White House official told the New York Times.
The White House official, granted anonymity to speak freely about the president’s schedule, did not tell the Times why Biden was skipping COP28, though the individual noted to the outlet that the president has been preoccupied with the Israel-Hamas war.
King Charles III, Pope Francis and other world leaders are set to attend the conference in Dubai. (RELATED: Hamas Releases First American Among Third Group Of Hostages)
“They’ve got the war in the Middle East and a war in Ukraine, a bunch of things going on,” John Kerry, Biden’s special envoy for climate change, said last week, according to the Times.
Kerry and his team will attend the summit, the Times reported.
Vice President Kamala Harris does not plan to attend COP28, Kirsten Allen, a spokeswoman for Harris, told the outlet.
US President Joe Biden addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 19, 2023. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden spoke before the U.N. General Assembly in New York City in September, delivering an address that most major world leaders — including those from France, China, Russia and the UK — did not attend.
Reports of Biden skipping the summit abroad come as concerns about the 81-year-old president’s fitness for office continue to rise. Allies of the president are ramping up a “bubble wrap” strategy in an effort to keep Biden from slipping up ahead of the 2024 election, according to another Times report. As a part of the strategy, some of the president’s officials have reportedly advised Biden to avoid long international trips and to get more rest to avoid other mistakes.