The news causes a shake of the head: As announced for the first time in August, US President Donald Trump's administration has now formally announced that it will host the Summit of Western Leaders (G7) in June 2020 at a Miami (Florida) golf hotel belongs to the family of President Trump.
Immediately worried comments came from the opposition Democrats, most recently from Nancy Pelosi, leader of the House of Representatives. "The President can not accept gifts or payments from foreign governments." The US Constitution is clear, Pelosi wrote on Twitter. "Nobody is above the law."
Mike Theiler / REUTERS
Kenneth Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance of Ghana: "That would not be good."
On the sidelines of a meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, Ghanaian Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta commented on the move: "Can you imagine that the President of Ghana would do such a thing?
US Democrat Nadler: "Bold example of presidential corruption"
Jerrold Nadler, Democrat and Chairman of the House Legal Committee, called the White House announcement one of "the most blatant examples of presidential corruption so far." His committee will continue investigations into this matter.
Democrat Ron Wyden, a high-ranking member of the Finance Committee, said in a written statement that the G7 summit could "under no circumstances" be held at Trump's Miami resort.
Trump's chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who had also made the announcement, defended the decision against the criticism. The meeting, with dozens of delegates and hundreds of NGO representatives and journalists present, is "about 50 percent cheaper" at the Trump National Doral Golf Resort than anywhere else. There is also no conflict of interest. The president made it clear that he has not benefited since he was in the White House, Mulvaney said.
