President Trump has awarded the 2020 G-7 Summit of world leaders to his own private company, scheduling the summit for June at his Trump Doral golf resort outside Miami, the White House announced on Thursday.
That decision is without precedent in modern American history: the president used his public office to direct a massive contract to himself. The G-7 Summit draws hundreds of diplomats, journalists and security personnel, and provides a worldwide spotlight.
The announcement to chose the presidents own club as the site of an international summit comes as Trump is in the midst of twin crises that are consuming his presidency a hasty and confused American retreat in Syria, and a growing impeachment inquiry in Congress.
White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who announced the decision, said the administration was not worried about the appearance of a conflict of interest while he touted what the presidents resort has to offer.
Doral was far and away the best physical facility for this meeting, said acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who announced the decision. He said that the administration examined 10 sites before choosing this one. Mulvaney quoted an anonymous site-selection official, who he said told him Its almost like they built this facility to host this type of event.
Mulvaney said it was Trumps idea to pursue the idea of hosting the event at his resort.
What about Doral? he said, recounting the presidents comments in the White House dining room.
The G-7 Summit rotates between sites chosen by the seven member countries, as well as by the European Union. The last time it was held in the U.S., in 2012, President Obama held it at the government-owned retreat at Camp David in Maryland. Before that, President George W. Bush held it at the exclusive, isolated resort of Sea Island, Ga. in 2004.
This year, Trump had hinted repeatedly that he intended to award the event to himself. At this years G-7 Summit, held in August in Biarritz, France, Trump said his aides had examined other sites and come back to tell him that Doral is the best. The site is set among office parks, in an inland area near the Miami airport.
They went to places all over the country, and they came back and they said, This is where wed like to be,? Trump said then. Its not about me. Its about getting the right location. He particularly praised the clubs ample parking.
The Doral club is a major part of Trumps portfolio: it provides him more revenue than any other hotel or golf club, and he took out $125 million in loans to buy it.
But, in recent years, this keystone property has fallen into steep decline, with profits falling 69 percent in three years. An expert hired by the Trump Organization blamed the drop on Trumps politicized brand.
Trumps properties have hosted U.S. government officials before, and the company says it does not seek to make a profit off that business. But even so, Trumps properties can be expensive: at his Mar-a-Lago Club, for instance, the government paid Trumps company $546 per night for each staffer staying in the clubs guest rooms, and another $1,000 for a single night of drinking by White House aides at one of Mar-a-Lagos bars.
In this case, Trumps son Eric who helps run the Trump Organization while his father is president recently said that, if Doral was the choice, Trump would not overcharge his own government.
It actually would have saved the U.S. a tremendous amount of money in that they wouldnt be paying for massive amounts of rooms with some hospitality company thats going to milk the hell out of the U.S. government, Eric Trump said at a forum put on by Yahoo! Finance last week.
