Donald Trump’s greed is very unattractive. He is notoriously cheap, throwing up the least expensive materials in his buildings and then guilding everything in gold. He even paid for his son’s Boy Scouts’ fee out of his charitable organization/piggy bank. The state shut down his charity, but look at this.
The Republican representatives decided it would be good politics to stay at the boss’ Washington, D.C. hotel for their two-day retreat. The hotel has always been a way for people, both American and foreign, to curry favor with this president.
What the Republicans may not have realized was that Trump bumped the room rate up three times its average rate on the night the GOP spent there. The cheapest rooms in the hotel, Premier and Deluxe rooms, cost $1,345 and $1,395 on the night of November 7, according to Citizens for Ethics a watchdog group.
That was triple the going rate. Of course, there have always been a number of factors influencing the cost of rooms: proximity to holidays, scarcity of rooms during D.C. events, and other variables, but tripling the room rate for the Republicans’ retreat seemed particularly shady.
There was also another Republican retreat scheduled, Save the Senate on November 7th and 8th at the president’s D.C. hotel. It has been the only financial entity to not suffer from the Trump name out front. Trump may attend this event.
At least eight Republican Senators will be in attendance, according to the invitation. It does state that this was not a fundraiser, although major donors have been invited to attend.
During the Fourth of July rally Trump offered on the National Mall, people were forced to book several nights or go elsewhere. There was also a big spike in room costs during this timeframe. It appeared that 98 members of Congress have spent their money at one of the president’s locations. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) chalked up 17 paid visits, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) came in tied with Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) at 11 visits.
The president also routed military planes for refueling near his Scotland resort. Then, rather than stay at less-expensive lodgings, Trump booked the members of the U.S. military at his exclusive resort.
Trump tried to book members of the G-7 Summit next year at his financially troubled resort in Miami. Clearly, the location was not suitable for such an important event. It was located directly in the flight path of a busy airport. In other words, the airport would have to divert all traffic.
Of course, all of this shreds the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. This law prevented elected officials from taking bribes. It was extremely important to the founding fathers who just escaped that form of government.
Still, people will pay the big bucks to rub shoulders with powerful Republicans, and possibly the president himself.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
