At the conclusion of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, Donald Trump no longer looked like the President of the United States of America, but like a tourism lobbyist. Following a conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and at the final press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, he campaigned for a hotel.
The 73-year-old told of a possible location for the next G7 summit in the US in 2020. Trump was in favor of a resort near Miami. He praised the proximity to the airport ("five minutes by car"), the size ("enormous"), the region ("great"), the buildings ("splendid"), the conference rooms and restaurants ("unbelievable"), the ballrooms ("among the largest and best in Florida"). His team has looked at twelve locations, but found nothing that could match even close to the said accommodation.
In Video: Trump plans next summit in his own golf club
Michael Kappeler / DPA
The problem: The golf club Trump was talking about was the Trump National Doral Miami. It belongs to the US president himself.
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G7 summit in 2020: Welcome to FloridaDiscussions about a conflict of interest between his office as president and his work as an entrepreneur accompany Trump since the beginning of his presidency. Although he emphasizes that he has given the day-to-day business to his sons Donald Junior and Eric - and that the Presidency privately costs him three to five billion US dollars (2.7 to 4.5 billion euros). But Trump is still the owner of numerous properties, which he also visits as president over and over again.
A new dimension
In June, the Washington Post reported Trump's 126th trip as president to one of his accommodations. That's an average of more than four visits to its hotels or golf clubs per month. According to an analysis by the US newspaper, Trump's private companies have raised at least $ 1.6 million (US $ 1.44 million) in republican campaigning and travel from federal officials.
But the latest push achieves a new dimension. Because a G7 meeting in a Trump resort would not just be advertising on the world stage for the host's private business. Foreign top-flight delegations would then also be forced to pay tax money to a private company of the US president.
Andrew Harnik / AP
Angela Merkel and Donald Trump: The US President announced a visit to Germany
The US Constitution prohibits a US president from receiving income from foreign governments. Several times Trump has already been sued for this clause, so far without success. Trump's defense: The rule prohibits only bribery, but not normal business.
In 2012, when Russia was still there, the leaders of the G8 met in the United States. At that time, the summit took place in Camp David, Maryland, on a government site. In 2004, the G8 had met at Sea Island in Georgia in a hotel.
"One of the most egregious examples of corruption"
It is unclear whether the question of a place for the summit next year has already been finally clarified. Trump says no. But shortly after the meeting in France, the White House published a tweet that sounded like a confirmation: It said that Trump had announced in France the location for the next G7 summit. And the President's publicity speech will also be on display there again.
President @realDonaldTrump shares the location of the next @G7 summit, hosted by the United States! pic.twitter.com/CMtHG2Dump
- The White House (@ WhiteHouse) August 26, 2019Trump's comments quickly caused criticism. Democrat Ron Wyden, a high-ranking member of the Finance Committee, said in a written statement that the G7 summit "under no circumstances" should be held at Trump's resort in Dural. That would be "one of the most outrageous examples of corruption and self-dealing" in a presidency that already has many such cases. To call allies to spend money in their own hotel would be an "insult" to the other leaders of the G7.
Jordan Libowitz of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics anti-corruption organization in Washington (crew) also blamed Trump: The president was publicly exploiting US foreign policy to whip up his own flagging business, he told Vox. In fact, according to the Washington Post, the resort's revenue has fallen sharply over the past two years.
Will Trump actually save his resort with the meeting? He himself denies that. "I do not want to make any money, I do not care about making money," he said. He also does not believe that he will benefit financially from a G7 summit in his hotel. How exactly he justified that, the US President, however, did not do.
