White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said President Donald Trump will not attend the United Nations General Assembly next week.

Meadows announced the decision Thursday in a briefing to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Trump's campaign rally in Wisconsin that he would not attend.

The annual meeting draws world leaders every year, but this year the General Assembly is a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many heads of state are sending recorded messages for the virtual gathering, but it was not immediately clear whether Trump would submit a message for the annual event or if he would participate virtually.

Trump has said he wants to host a G-7 meeting of the world's largest industrialized countries, but that meeting may also fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic.  He has indicated that he would like to host the G-7 gathering in November, after the U.S. presidential election.