Trump’s Insistence on Staying at His Own Resorts Just Blew Up in His Face

[Zippyjuan]

Trump is planning a visit to Ireland in June. He insists that it is held on his own property. Ireland says the meeting in their country should be at a place they choose- not promote his own business. Rather than respecting his host's wishes, he says he may skip Ireland and go to Scotland (and another of his golf courses) instead.


President Donald Trump’s obsession with staying at his own resorts isn’t just costing American taxpayers anymore, it’s straining diplomatic relations. CNN reports that the White House is pushing for a June meeting with Ireland’s head of state take place at the president’s golf course in Doonbeg. The Irish government isn’t pleased:


An Irish government source with knowledge of ongoing discussions told CNN that the White House is insisting the Irish prime minister, or taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, come to the President’s golf course in Doonbeg to host a meeting between the two leaders.

According to the source, “The Irish government feel that protocol dictates that any event theyhost for President Trump should be at a venue of their choosing and certainly not at an hotel owned by Trump.”

“It is a bit unseemly to demand that the taoiseach host President Trump at his hotel,” the source said.

The source says White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, the grandson of Irish immigrants, is deeply involved in the negotiations and is insisting that the prime minister come to Trump’s golf course.

Ireland has countered by saying the country’s leaders could go to a nearby castle that Trump doesn’t own, but still have breakfast at the president’s resort. The White House isn’t compromising and is reportedly threatening that Trump will go to one of his golf courses in Scotland instead.

While meeting with Varadkar in Washington in March, Trump said he would be heading to Ireland sometime this year. “It’s a special place,” he said. “And I have a very warm spot for Doonbeg.”

Would this be a violation of the emoluments clause prohibiting a President from gaining financially from his office (by demanding that they use his properties instead of what the Irish government wants)?

[Grandmastersexsay]

Sounds like it blew up in Ireland's face, not Trump's.

[oyarde]

Trump is planning a visit to Ireland in June. He insists that it is held on his own property. Ireland says the meeting in their country should be at a place they choose- not promote his own business. Rather than respecting his host's wishes, he says he may skip Ireland and go to Scotland (and another of his golf courses) instead.



Would this be a violation of the emoluments clause prohibiting a President from gaining financially from his office (by demanding that they use his properties instead of what the Irish government wants)?

Hard to imagine Trump actually owns those .

[asurfaholic]

I can pretty much see Ireland’s side. They don’t want to host Trump at his own place.

[Swordsmyth]

Trump wants to ensure his security the best he can and Ireland doesn't want to let him.

Now Ireland loses.

[Zippyjuan]

Trump wants the business as well as the publicity for his golf course. It is about money.

[Swordsmyth]

Trump wants the business as well as the publicity for his golf course. It is about money.
Trump has plenty of business and publicity.

It is about security.

[RJB]

If I was Trump, I would want the same for a number of reasons.

[Zippyjuan]

Trump has plenty of business and publicity.

It is about security.

Which is easier to secure? A castle or a golf course?

https://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.3893630.1557958144!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_620_330/image.jpg

Dromoland Castle- the location the Irish is suggesting.

https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/10/53/2d/bc/dromoland-castle-hotel.jpg

[Swordsmyth]

Which is easier to secure? A castle or a golf course?
A place you own and control is easier to secure.

[ATruepatriot]

Which is easier to secure? A castle or a golf course?

The Golf course.

[Stratovarious]

Trump wants the business as well as the publicity for his golf course. It is about money.

You are talking out your ass as usual, wtf would Trump want with this little bit of piss ant cash/publicity , earnings that his companies
might gain from this visit.


Did you know that Trump's properties need NO PUBLICITY at this point, did you realize that Trump is
the most powerful figure in the World, and that everyone on Earth knows this, they all know that
Trump Towers is Trump , Trump Golf Courses are Trump, who tf doesn't know that, you know that ,
so wtf ?

Are you paid well to post here ?

[Stratovarious]

Give us a Chart zippy , or none of this happened.............


: )

[Danke]

Are you paid well to post here ?

Either that, or she/he is a masochist.

[Danke]

Give us a Chart zippy , or none of this happened.............


: )

6451

[Zippyjuan]

It is a newer property for him- purchased in 2014- so he wants to promote it.

[Swordsmyth]

It is a newer property for him- purchased in 2014- so he wants to promote it.
He doesn't need to.

[Stratovarious]

6451

Polls show that Alfred could beat Sanders 2020 by 4 million votes.

[Ender]

You are talking out your ass as usual, wtf would Trump want with this little bit of piss ant cash/publicity , earnings that his companies
might gain from this visit.


Did you know that Trump's properties need NO PUBLICITY at this point, did you realize that Trump is
the most powerful figure in the World, and that everyone on Earth knows this, they all know that
Trump Towers is Trump , Trump Golf Courses are Trump, who tf doesn't know that, you know that ,
so wtf ?

Are you paid well to post here ?

So. you don't mind that Americans tax-payers are paying Trump's company for him to stay on his own properties?

Case in point:


EXCLUSIVE: President Trump's golf trip to Scotland cost taxpayers over $1.2MILLION and his Turnberry club profited with $38K of contracts - and more money is still to be paid out
The SLC Turnberry Limited, which is controlled by The Trump Organization, was paid $30,073.58 for President Trump's trip to Scotland this weekend.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5963831/President-Trumps-golf-trip-Scotland-cost-taxpayers-1-2MILLION-Trump-organization-38k.html

[Stratovarious]

So. you don't mind that Americans tax-payers are paying Trump's company for him to stay on his own properties?

Case in point:



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5963831/President-Trumps-golf-trip-Scotland-cost-taxpayers-1-2MILLION-Trump-organization-38k.html

No ;

''What , me worry?''

Better there than Hillary's Foundation.

[Schifference]

Is it out of the ordinary for a sitting president to have a meeting or conduct his presidential duties at a property the president ownes? Did Bush ever have a meeting at his Ranch? Kennedy ever go meet with anyone in the Hampton's?

[Schifference]

Didn't he say a long time ago he would rather live in his own house than the White House? The guy lives the life and maybe just wants to have a nice stay while away. How many times did Obama go on vacation? How many times has Trump gone on vacation? What if Trump was wanting to get away for a few days and decided to efficiently have a meeting while he was taking a little trip?

[Ender]

Is it out of the ordinary for a sitting president to have a meeting or conduct his presidential duties at a property the president ownes? Did Bush ever have a meeting at his Ranch? Kennedy ever go meet with anyone in the Hampton's?

The problem isn't that he stays on property that he owns- the problem is that his company makes bucks from tax-payers when he does.

[acptulsa]

The problem isn't that he stays on property that he owns- the problem is that his company makes bucks from tax-payers when he does.

Lots of them.

I remember when a sitting president diverting tax dollars into his business was considered a conflict of interest--a.k.a corruption. Even a president naming a specific company was considered very bad form.

[Schifference]

The problem isn't that he stays on property that he owns- the problem is that his company makes bucks from tax-payers when he does.

So what? Did the hotel that Obama stayed in when he was on a trip make money? If a business doesn't make money they won't stay in business. The tax payer pays for his security and place to stay until he is no longer president. Does it cost more for Trump to say at his own resort than at one he doesn't own?

[acptulsa]

So what?

So you approve of no-bid contracts?

[Ender]

Didn't he say a long time ago he would rather live in his own house than the White House? The guy lives the life and maybe just wants to have a nice stay while away. How many times did Obama go on vacation? How many times has Trump gone on vacation? What if Trump was wanting to get away for a few days and decided to efficiently have a meeting while he was taking a little trip?

From 2 years ago:
Published April 17 2017



Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, obtained government records in December 2016 near the end of the Obama administration and summarized the Obama family's eight years of travel, putting the known cost at $96.9 million. "The Obamas' notorious abuse of presidential travel perks wasted military resources and stressed the Secret Service. Judicial Watch estimates that the final costs of Obama's unnecessary vacation and political travel will well exceed $100 million," Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said in December. At that time, he added: "President-elect Trump can immediately save taxpayers money by reforming presidential travel."

What is Fitton saying about Trump's travels so far? "It's a rather obvious use of taxpayer resources for seemingly unnecessary purposes."

Obama's travel in eight years:
$96.9 million
Highlights from documents obtained by Judicial Watch:

• Secret Service records show Obama's April 2015 Earth Day trip to give a global warming speech in the Everglades cost taxpayers $145,752.36, making the total cost of the trip at least $1,012,367.76.

• Air Force records regarding Michelle Obama's trip to Morocco, Spain and Liberia with her daughters in June 2016 revealed $450,026.40 in flight expenses alone. A C-32A was flown for 28.4 hours.

• Air Force records show that the Obamas' August 2016 vacation to Martha's Vineyard cost taxpayers $450,295 in flight expenses alone.

• CNN notes that a GAO report about a four-day trip Obama took to Florida in 2013 — one similar to Trump's trips — found the total cost to the Secret Service and Coast Guard was $3.6 million.

Trump's travel in 88 days:
$21 million

• Trump is on pace in his first year of office to approach Obama's spending on travel for his entire eight years, according to CNN's estimates.

• His Easter weekend trip to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, was his seventh visit there in 13 weekends since taking office.
• Estimates of the cost of trips to Mar-a-Lago hover around $3 million per weekend, which would mean $21 million was burned in Trump's first months in office.

• The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office has spent $3.5 million since the election, including $1.5 million for the Chinese president's visit, which attracted a couple of thousand demonstrators.

So what about golf?
The Tampa Bay Times' PolitiFact has tracked the number of times Donald Trump has played golf, compared with Barack Obama at the same point of his presidency. The count as of now: Trump 14, Obama 0.

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/when-vacations-cost-millions/2320612

[Swordsmyth]

So you approve of no-bid contracts?
Does the President ever put his travel accommodations up to a bid?
Did his hotel charge any more than any other hotel would have charged?

[Swordsmyth]

And since the trolls are trying to make this about money I will just state again that this is about security.

[Schifference]

What about trips to camp David or trips to their homes? Is it okay for one president to travel to their home and the other not? I think Trump would travel in his own plane and go without the secret service.

How much does it cost to have a million troops during peace time out on maneuvers around the globe? How much does it cost to have a million troops during wartime?

Is Trump supposed to be restricted to a particular place? Is it okay for Kennedy to go to the Hampton's but not Trump to go to Mar-a-lago?

If Trump had a resort across the street from the White House and wanted to spend the weekend there and he simply walked across the street, we would still hear how much money he cost the taxpayer.

Do you think the presidency has enhanced Trump's businesses? Do you think more people would want to go to a Trump resort after he became president or before?

Suppose you have gone to a cottage every other weekend since you were a child. A place that had 500 acres and a river, lake, or ocean front, wildlife. You and all your siblings hung out there. Spent the summers there. Then you become president. Are you not supposed to visit your family cottage? Is it easier for you to go to the cottage with 50 people attached to your hip or by yourself. Is their footprint a plus on your property?

I don't care what Trump does he will be ridiculed.

How many parties has he thrown? Like the big star gala's that Barry and Michael would throw? This is not about money or keeping score. It is smear politics.

How much has the smear campaign costs taxpayers? I am not talking about Mueller and his team. I am speaking of the result of a restricted president with a stalled congress. Media spewing BS 24/7. That smear cost plenty when you count the lost productivity or resources spent stalling productivity. How much does Adam Schiff's or Chuck Schummer's hypocrisy cost the taxpayers? How much does it cost when an entire group of legislators were promoting something a couple of years ago and are now totally against it only because a different president is endorsing it? How much has all the smears cost taxpayers? If you want to spend less you have to be more efficient. If you want something until somebody you don't support promotes it and then you oppose it and get courts and put up roadblocks does that cost taxpayers money?

[Superfluous Man]

Would this be a violation of the emoluments clause prohibiting a President from gaining financially from his office (by demanding that they use his properties instead of what the Irish government wants)?

Does Donald Trump himself still own these properties?

[ATruepatriot]

Does Donald Trump himself still own these properties?

You are not required to give up everything you own to be President.

[oyarde]

Is it out of the ordinary for a sitting president to have a meeting or conduct his presidential duties at a property the president ownes? Did Bush ever have a meeting at his Ranch? Kennedy ever go meet with anyone in the Hampton's?

I do not think it would be and the secret service probably likes it better. I do think he should donate any money profited from the actual visit back towards the debt or something , but bottom line is if he feels safer and the secret service thinks it is safer then its the way to go.

[Superfluous Man]

You are not required to give up everything you own to be President.

OK. But that wasn't my question.

Cheney relinquished his stock in Halliburton when he was picked to be Bush's running mate in order to avoid conflicts of interest.

I think that if Trump didn't do the same with these properties, then criticizing him for booking them for official government events paid for by taxpayers is a very valid criticism.

[acptulsa]

And since the trolls are trying to make this about money I will just state again that this is about security.

Show some proof? Or just one tiny shred of evidence?

[oyarde]

Does Donald Trump himself still own these properties?

I have not looked but I would be surprised if these are not in some holding co not managed by him. Most of what he has is not owned by him at all and just has his name.

[Superfluous Man]

I have not looked but I would be surprised if these are not in some holding co not managed by him. Most of what he has is not owned by him at all and just has his name.

That's what I was wondering. I think something like this may be his way around the emoluments clause.

[ATruepatriot]

OK. But that wasn't my question.

Cheney relinquished his stock in Halliburton when he was picked to be Bush's running mate in order to avoid conflicts of interest.

I think that if Trump didn't do the same with these properties, then criticizing him for booking them for official government events paid for by taxpayers is a very valid criticism.

Cheney didn't legally have to do that. There is nothing that says you have to give up all your assets to be President. You just can't actively engage in business and profit while in office. Trump did indeed temporary disconnect from Trump industries before becoming President and that is all that is required. He can take his position back when he is done. Bringing money into Trump industries does not profit himself because he is legally unhooked from it. Just because his name is on it doesn't mean he is actively participating and profiting. A corporation is not a personal asset.

[ATruepatriot]

That's what I was wondering. I think something like this may be his way around the emoluments clause.

Yes, what oyarde says is true. The corporation owns it not Trump personally.

[Superfluous Man]

Bush didn't legally have to do that. There is nothing that says you have to give up all your assets to be President. You just can't actively engage in business and profit while in office. Trump did indeed temporary disconnect from Trump industries before becoming President and that is all that is required. He can take his position back when he is done. Bringing money into Trump industries does not profit himself because he is legally unhooked from it. Just because his name is on it doesn't mean he is actively participating and profiting. A corporation is not a personal asset.

That is essentially what I was asking.

I never said anything about any legal obligation for him to give up any assets.

[ATruepatriot]

That is essentially what I was asking.

I never said anything about any legal obligation for him to give up any assets.

I misunderstood you then and apologize for my mistake. You asked if he "still" owned these and that is what I went with.

[acptulsa]

Is Trump supposed to be restricted to a particular place? Is it okay for Kennedy to go to the Hampton's but not Trump to go to Mar-a-lago?

Did the Kennedy family charge taxpayers $38,000 a day to house John and Jackie and Caroline and JohnJohn and some secret service guys at Hyannis Port?


Do you think the presidency has enhanced Trump's businesses? Do you think more people would want to go to a Trump resort after he became president or before?

Of course. Both influence peddlers and celebrity seekers are flocking to the places, especially when he's around. It's well documented, and totally predictable.


Suppose you have gone to a cottage every other weekend since you were a child. A place that had 500 acres and a river, lake, or ocean front, wildlife. You and all your siblings hung out there. Spent the summers there. Then you become president. Are you not supposed to visit your family cottage? Is it easier for you to go to the cottage with 50 people attached to your hip or by yourself. Is their footprint a plus on your property?

Why are you asking this? Did Trump grow up going to all these places while his father was running nothing but Bronx slums? How is this relevant?


How much has the smear campaign costs taxpayers? I am not talking about Mueller and his team. I am speaking of the result of a restricted president with a stalled congress. Media spewing BS 24/7. That smear cost plenty when you count the lost productivity or resources spent stalling productivity. How much does Adam Schiff's or Chuck Schummer's hypocrisy cost the taxpayers? How much does it cost when an entire group of legislators were promoting something a couple of years ago and are now totally against it only because a different president is endorsing it? How much has all the smears cost taxpayers? If you want to spend less you have to be more efficient. If you want something until somebody you don't support promotes it and then you oppose it and get courts and put up roadblocks does that cost taxpayers money?

An interesting question. Republican Ken Starr charged the taxpayers forty million. It also kept the Congress tied up for years. I'm convinced that saved us money. In fact, that's the only explanation I can think if for a Democratic administration running a surplus.

[kpitcher]

I hope Trump doesn't catch any cancer from the windfarm near his Scotland Golf course.

[Swordsmyth]

Show some proof? Or just one tiny shred of evidence?
When the trolls provide proof or even evidence he is doing it for the money.

[Zippyjuan]

Show some proof? Or just one tiny shred of evidence?

He can't (or won't) ever provide evidence when asked. He can only respond with slogans or catch phrases.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izazdBpraC8

[Swordsmyth]

Media is leaking impressive Trump military security measures for his visit to Ireland. (https://preview.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsireland/donald-trump-to-be-protected-by-nuclear-submarine-and-us-warship-during-ireland-visit/ar-AABTeEq) Maybe Trump’s team is letting it out to discourage attempts. Or maybe the media is trying to compromise security. Both point to a pretty serious threat.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

If Trump owned Heinz people would criticism him for promoting his company whenever putting ketchup onto something

[dannno]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYzlPx9ryB4

[angelatc]

And since the trolls are trying to make this about money I will just state again that this is about security.

I find it hard to believe The Secret Service managed to keep all other recent presidents safe while they stayed in resorts they didn't own.

[Swordsmyth]

I find it hard to believe The Secret Service managed to keep all other recent presidents safe while they stayed in resorts they didn't own.
Trump is in more danger than recent Presidents and since he happens to own resorts the SS might as well take every advantage they can get.

[Danke]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYzlPx9ryB4


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sI7wrgYqVE

[dannno]

I find it hard to believe The Secret Service managed to keep all other recent presidents safe while they stayed in resorts they didn't own.

Trump is in a lot more danger than other Presidents, obviously..

[Zippyjuan]

Why go hundreds of miles out of they way and say it was more convenient to stay there? Maybe because the property is losing more than $1 million a year since he bought it and wants more publicity for it. He is also using climate change (which he denies exists) in requesting a sea wall be built there to protect it.

https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/President-Trump-to-stay-at-Doonbeg-his-13939360.php


President Trump to stay at Doonbeg, his money-losing golf course threatened by climate change

President Donald Trump will arrive at his own golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland, Wednesday for a two-night stay - pausing between official events in Europe to visit a business that has cost him $41 million and never reported turning a profit.

Trump, coming off an official state visit to Britain, landed at Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland and met briefly with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar before flying to Doonbeg, about 60 miles away.

The Irish Times reported that Trump had originally wanted to meet with Varadkar at his golf club, but Varadkar wanted to meet at another nearby hotel. The two leaders settled on an awkward compromise: the VIP lounge at the airport.

Then Trump will leave Doonbeg again on Thursday, visiting France for D-Day commemorations during the day Thursday. Then he returns to Doonbeg on Thursday night, before flying home on Friday.

Despite the odd geography of that schedule - which requires flying hundreds of miles west to Ireland, then hundreds more miles back east to France - Trump said he stayed at Doonbeg for convenience.

"We're going to be staying at Doonbeg, in Ireland because it's convenient and it's a great place. But it's convenient," Trump said before he left Washington.

The visit will mark the third time Trump has paused during an overseas trip to visit one of his own businesses - which he still owns, even as president. He made a brief stop at his Waikiki hotel on the way to Asia in 2017, and spent two nights at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland last summer.

This visit will bring a large contingent of U.S. and Irish officials, as well as police and security forces, to a village of about 750 people. It is not clear how many of them, besides Trump, will stay at the Doonbeg course's 120-room hotel.

But, if they want to stay in Doonbeg, they will not have many other choices. Tripadvisor.com lists three hotels, total. Trump's hotel is rated No. 1. The No. 3 is not a typical hotel but a series of "camping pods" that resemble cozy wooden sheds.

The visit will also bring worldwide publicity to a course that Trump bought in 2014, after its former owners had struggled to turn a profit.

Trump paid $11.9 million, according to Irish corporate records. After that, Trump put in another $30 million into renovating and operating the property, again without taking a mortgage loan.

Doonbeg was one of 14 properties that Trump bought without loans between 2006 and 2014, an all-cash spending binge that topped $400 million - defying his own history as the heavy-borrowing "king of debt." The Trump Organization has explained this unusual spending - which defies the usual practices of the debt-loving real-estate industry - by saying their other businesses produced enough cash to make it easy.

"I took a chance, I bought it and - no options, no nothing, just bought it for cash, no mortgage, no debt, no nothing - I don't have debt on any of them, I don't have debt on very much, period," Trump told The Washington Post in 2016.

Since then, Doonbeg has never reported turning a profit, losing more than $1 million every year from 2014 to 2017, according to Irish corporate records.

In 2018, the course's revenue rose slightly - up about 2% from $14.2 million to $14.5 million, according to Trump's latest U.S. financial disclosures. But those disclosures don't show if the course actually turned a profit, and the Irish records that would show profit or less aren't yet available.

The course is now waiting on two decisions from Irish planning authorities, which the Trump Organization says are crucial to the club's future.

One is a proposed seawall to stop the Atlantic Ocean from eroding away part of the golf course.

The Trump Organization cited climate change in its application for the permit, according to a Politico story from 2016, saying that sea-level rise and more powerful storms had worsened the threat of erosion. Trump the politician, of course, has questioned idea that climate change is a threat at all - defying the overwhelming scientific consensus, and his own golf course's assessment of its future.

The application for that seawall is now before Ireland's national planning authority. In 2018, the Trump Organization also applied to local authorities to expand the hotel itself, adding more than 50 new rental cottages and a large ballroom for events. It is awaiting approval from local officials.

In Doonbeg itself, Trump is likely to find something that escaped him in London: a warm welcome. Trump's club employs more than 200 people, making it one of the largest employers in a rural area of County Clare. Reporters visiting the area in advance of his visit found that locals - even those who disagreed with his politics - thanked him for bringing customers and money to Doonbeg.

"People divorce Donald Trump the owner of the golf course from his politics," said James Griffin, a member of the Trump club interviewed by the Irish Times. "People have their own ideas about his policies. The big thing here are the jobs he supports."