Donald Trump will hold the G7 at his Doral golf resort next year

Donald Trump will hold the G7 at his Doral golf resort next year – as chief of staff admits president suggested the move then claims other venues were ruled out because world leaders would need OXYGEN TANKS

  • White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney reveals the G7 will be held at Trump Doral near Miami next June
  • Claims it is ‘vastly cheaper’ than other venues because president’s company is offering it ‘at cost’ 
  • Said Trump himself suggested adding it to the shortlist saying: ‘What about Doral?’ but claimed president did not make the final decision
  • Said initial shortlist of 12 had included one venue which was ruled out because participants would need ‘oxygen tanks’; Doral was one of four finalists
  • Admitted people would ask about emoluments clause which bans president taking foreign cash but claimed it was not an issue because Trump won’t ‘profit’
  • Mulvaney said decision could be seen as helping the Trump brand but said: ‘Donald Trump’s brand is probably strong enough as it is.’

Donald Trump will be hosting next year’s Group of Seven economic summit of developed world leaders at one of his own properties, the Trump National Doral golf resort near Miami, the White House said on Thursday.

White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters the summit would take place there on June 10-12, 2020, calling it ‘the perfect physical location to do this.’

Trump had floated the possibility during his visit to France for this year’s G7 meeting in August, touting the resort’s size and its proximity to the Miami airport, though he insisted he would not directly profit from the choice.

Mulvaney told reporters in the White House press briefing room that it would be ‘vastly cheaper’ than other places and the Trump Organization was charging ‘cost.’

‘There’s no issue here on him profiting from this in any way, shape or form,’ he said. 

He claimed that one rival venue was ruled out because it would have needed ‘oxygen tanks’ for participants. 

Winner: The Trump resort in Doral, just outside Miami, will host the G7 in June next year

White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters the G7 summit would take place at Trump Doral  on June 10-12, 2020.

Mulvaney said that it was in fact Trump who had suggested adding his own resort to the shortlist. 

He said that a group of staff had met with the president to discuss a shortlist for the G7 venues and Trump said: ‘What about Doral?’

Mulvaney said: ‘You know what that’s not the craziest idea we have ever heard.’ 

But asked by DailyMail.com if the White House would reveal a paper trail of how it decided to select Doral, Mulvaney said: ‘If you want to see how we did this, the answer is no.’

The chief of staff said that he knew in advance of the decision that critics would ask if it was a breach of the emoluments clause which bans the president from taking ‘any present, emolument or office’ from a foreign state.

Mulvaney said that because the president would not ‘profit,’ the move was perfectly legal. 

‘There’s no issue here on him profiting from this in any way, shape or form,’ Mulvaney said. 

‘We’re going to have it there, and there’s going to be folks who will never get over the fact that it’s a Trump property. We get that, but we’re still going there.

‘The president knows exactly that he’s going to get these questions and he’s simply saying that’s fine – I’m willing to take that.’ 

Mulvaney said that he knew people would see it as ‘a huge branding opportunity,’ but claimed that the president’s brand is already ‘the biggest in the world.’  

‘Donald Trump’s brand is probably strong enough as it is,’ Mulvaney said. 

‘It’s the most recognizable name in the English language and probably around the world right now.’

When the United States has hosted the summit before, it has been held in Puerto Rico; Williamsburg, Virginia; Houston; Denver; Sea Island, Georgia; and Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.

Mulvaney said that there had been an initial list of 12 venues, of which 10 were visited by an ‘advance team.’ They were in states including California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.

They were whittled down to four finalists visited by a ‘senior team,’ with two venues in Utah and one in Hawaii losing out to Doral. 

Mulvaney said: ‘It’s almost like they built this facility to host this type of event.’  

Trump has repeatedly attacked Joe Biden, a leading Democratic presidential candidate and former vice-president, over his son’s business ties in Ukraine and China, which Trump has repeatedly called corrupt, without evidence.

Asked how the president’s use of his private business properties to host official government events differed from Trump’s allegations against the Bidens, Mulvaney told reporters there would be no profit and said the family had made their money before Trump became president in January 2017.

‘That’s very different,’ he claimed. 

Trump has said he is not involved with the day-to-day operations of his private company and that his sons run the business.

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