Trump Would Like To Charge Admission For Next G7, NO GROUPONS PLEASE

Donald's point of view was this: Take whatever you can grab.

Donald Trump closed out the Group of Seven meeting in Biarritz, France, with a thought about the next summit:  How about we hold it at my place next year? Not just the USA, since it's the USA's turn, but literally his place, the Trump National Doral golf resort, because it's literally the best possible location for an international summit, as long as you don't mind the host making money off all the delegations. Here's the "president" of the United States doing what presidents have always done: giving an infomercial about what a terrific resort he's willing to make available for everyone. For the full price, no Groupons please. And he won't even make a profit, because shut up.

TRUMP on possibly hosting G7 at a private club he still owns and profits from: "In my opinion I'm not going to make… https://t.co/gp9ZufF3T9

— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1566832851.0 

We like the part where he explains he's actually losing BILLIONS of dollars by being "president," because he just loves America so much. We dunno, could be true -- the Trump brand certainly has repelled plenty of people.

Honestly, to hear Trump tell it, it's a wonder that the US has ever hosted any previous G7 meetings at all, since no other site is nearly as good. Not only is Doral just a short drive from Miami's airport -- he specfiically pointed that out -- the whole place is simply ideal for any business meeting you might want to hold!

It's got tremendous acreage, many hundreds of acres, so we can handle whatever happens. It's really -- people are really liking it and plus it has buildings that have 50 to 70 units. And so each delegation can have its own building.

And every time the visiting foreign leaders open the mini-bar, Trump makes a dollar. Like, even if they don't take anything out, it's really quite the deal. In fact, even the military people said, "Sir, it's the best, sir. We love America and we love you, sir." And then they cried in gratitude.

Also, he's pretty sure that little bedbug problem is all cleared up. Or at least they settled some guy's biting bedbug lawsuit. 

Mind you, some "experts" on "ethics" immediately called the idea a whole new low in Trump griftiness:

"Trump would basically be compelling foreign governments to spend money at his personal resort, while promoting the resort on the world stage," said Deepak Gupta, an ethics lawyer with expertise in such cases.

"That's inconsistent with both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution," Mr. Gupta said. "Trump's use of his official position for personal gain is so blatant and pervasive that I don't think we've ever seen anything like it from a previous U.S. president."

Two things, mister fancy "ethics" man: 1) Show us YOUR hotel. You think you have a better resort? These are very important people, and we bet you don't even own a resort. 2) What kind of name is "Gupta," anyway? What does a Gupta know about American ethics? Stephen Miller would like to see some papers, please. (Sorry, we should know better than to do ethic jokes. GET IT?)

Former director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Walter Shaub also had quaint thoughts about why holding the G7 at a Trump resort might be "bad," although again, Shaub reflects the bygone standards of a pre-Trump world.

The idea that Trump Doral would even be a finalist so strongly suggests the possibility of corruption that the State Department's inspector general should investigate the procurement process [...] This may also implicate constitutional concerns if the government is going to be paying a company that Trump owns.

Something about emoluments and US presidents shouldn't be making money off the job, too, but as Mr. Trump has already made clear, he doesn't believe he's making any money, so the real ethical violation would be even suggesting there's any thing improper. Have you people no shame?

The Washington Post   notes that some Trump aides have "warned against the idea, concerned about the ethics of the president profiting from an official government event," and that these goody-two-shoes types worry "about the appearance that he was using the power of the presidency to direct taxpayer money into his own pockets." But we have reason to doubt there's a lot of pushback inside Trumpworld, particularly since anyone claiming such a thing is a Trump appointee, and therefore not to be trusted.

The Post also points to an analysis it published in June, which found Trump has so far made at least $1.6 million in revenue thanks to various government and GOP campaign events that have followed Trump to his own businesses. But we should point out that when you compare that amount to the five billion dollars Donald Trump imagines he could have made if he hadn't been "president," then really, we probably owe him a lot more. Besides, other countries do this too. You think France's president Macaroon doesn't make money off those cookies?

Besides, It would be very cynical to say that Trump is only fluffing his Doral resort, which has been losing money as normal people avoid Trump properties. He also used the international summit to talk up his other resorts, too.

Trump name-dropped four of his golf courses during a 70-minute news conference in Biarritz: Turnberry and Aberdeen… https://t.co/ETtiIL4jP2

— Jennifer Jacobs (@Jennifer Jacobs) 1566836426.0 

Just as a respected world leader must. Now, wait until you hear about his plan to revitalize American industry with TRUCKS! Trucks of the FUTURE! Nuclear Trucks!

And FLYING CARS THAT CAN NUKE THE HURRICANES! 

In conclusion, the world of tomorrow will be wonderful because the world will come to Trump properties -- he is the best and they can park their aircars there too! Or in Greenland.

[ NYT / WaPo ]

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