President Barack Obama will not be attending the Clinton Global Initiative when he attends the United Nations General Assembly next week,
Politico reports.
It will mark the first time since he assumed the presidency in 2009 that he has not attended. The decision comes as his vice president, Joe Biden, considers a run for the top office himself against Hillary Clinton, his former secretary of state and a founder of CGI.
The White House officially put the blame of a crowed schedule.
"Given Pope Francis's trip, the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the convening of the United Nations General Assembly this week, an appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative was just not something we could fold into the president's schedule this year," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.
Neither Biden or Secretary of State John Kerry plan to attend this year either, according to Politico. White House Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith is the highest ranking member of the administration slated to attend.
Big corporate sponsors also have dropped out this year, according to
USA Today.
As Clinton has faced a drop in the polls amid worries over her use of a private email server, six firms have stopped their donations and have been replaced with only one.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.