President Donald Trump continues to put his very personal stamp on the U.S. presidency, using it for his own financial benefit. Ethics watchdogs pounced on him over his recent tweet promoting one of his Scottish golf courses, which he called “perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world” and claimed “furthers U.K. relationship!”
Very proud of perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world. Also, furthers U.K. relationship! https://t.co/3xTzzJH6Iq
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 2, 2019
The organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) slammed the promotion, citing it as an explicit and inappropriate intermingling of Trump’s interests as president and his interests as a private businessman. They made no apparent move towards legal action over the profiteering — but they remain no stranger to lawsuits against the Trump team.
They shared in response to his tweet:
‘There it is. The president is using an official statement as an ad for his business and making sure everyone knows he ties his business to U.S. relationships with foreign countries.’
There it is. The president is using an official statement as an ad for his business and making sure everyone knows he ties his business to US relationships with foreign countries. https://t.co/aKWQwx856g
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) March 2, 2019
Similar concerns have certainly popped up before, since as is old news at this point, Trump refused to divest from his businesses upon taking office. Instead, he simply ceded executive control to interests including his two adult sons Donald Jr. and Eric while maintaining a financial stake in the business that continued to benefit from foreign patronage.
As an example of the problem, early on in Trump’s presidency lobbyists working for and paid by the Saudi Arabian government spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at Trump’s hotel in Washington, D.C. — and as his presidency continued, he established a close relationship with the Saudis, even refusing to explicitly condemn Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s regime in the face of a preponderance of evidence that they orchestrated the murder of U.S.-based, dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote for The Washington Post.
Former director of the Office of Government Ethics and CREW adviser Walter Shaub is among those concerned about the latest developments on this front of Trump’s business and his presidency intermingling.
He was even more blunt than CREW, sharing on Twitter:
‘This is Trump’s most explicit commingling of personal interests and public office to date. This is the tone from the top that leads his appointees to violate ethics rules. This is shameless, corrupt and repugnant presidential profiteering. This is an invitation to graft.’
This is Trump’s most explicit commingling of personal interests and public office to date.
This is the tone from the top that leads his appointees to violate ethics rules.
This is shameless, corrupt and repugnant presidential profiteering.
This is an invitation to graft. https://t.co/3Gce7RGEYW
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) March 2, 2019
As Shaub indicated, the deeply unsettling, direct ad for the president’s Aberdeen golf course from the White House is hardly alone. Numerous Trump appointees have left their positions in the face of scrutiny of their usage of the government apparatus for personal benefit through means like luxury travel bills as high as $1 million. Those who’ve left under such a cloud include Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin.
Ironically, based on tangible measures, Trump’s Aberdeen golf course he’s drawing heat for promoting isn’t even as great as he says it is. The course has been in the red every year according to numbers that emerged from the British government, and it’s been the flashpoint for a number of showdowns, like a suit Trump brought against the Scottish government claiming a wind farm planned for the area would negatively affect his business. He lost that suit, leaving the course among a number of Trump properties around the world whose business has plummeted in the wake of his rise — besides the D.C. hotel, which has continued to attract political interests seeking possible leverage.
Check out Twitter’s response…
Featured Image via YouTube screenshot
