Trump Exits G7 by Touting His Resort, Disparaging Windmills

Trump National Doral Miami has 'series of magnificent buildings,' he says
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 26, 2019 1:55 PM CDT
Trump Pushes His Florida Resort for Next G7
President Donald Trump listens to a question during a press conference on the third and final day of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France Monday, Aug. 26, 2019.   (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

President Trump has just the place in mind for next year's G7, and it's one he's quite familiar with. As this year's summit wrapped up in Biarritz, France, Trump said that a dozen site visits across America ended with the Trump National Doral Miami emerging as the best option. That came during a 35-minute press conference in which the Guardian characterizes Trump as "short on details for matters like his trade war with China, the Iran nuclear deal, and the climate crisis." More:

  • In speaking about the Doral, Trump praised its "series of magnificent buildings," which would enable each member country to "have their own villa, or own bungalow" at the golf resort, he explained. Each bungalow holds up to 70 "very luxurious rooms with magnificent rooms," Trump continued. "We have incredible conference rooms, incredible restaurants, it's like such a natural."

  • He said his "people"—including Secret Service and military personnel—scoped out the options, and they were "all good" but flawed. He didn't name any of the others. "Some were two hours from an airport, some four hours. Some didn't allow this, didn't allow that," he said per the BBC, which notes the resort is about 8 miles from the Miami airport.
  • The Washington Post reports by way of aides that "Trump has sought for months to hold the summit at Doral, but many of his advisers have warned against the idea, concerned about the ethics of the president potentially profiting from an official government event."
  • But Trump insisted it wouldn't be a money-making endeavor, per NBC News, telling reporters, "From my standpoint, I'm not going to make any money. In my opinion, I'm not going to make any money. I don't want to make money. I don't care about making money."
  • Trump didn't attend the G7 climate change session Monday morning. When asked about it, he had this to say, per the Guardian: "I feel the US has tremendous wealth ... I'm not going to lose that wealth on dreams, on windmills—which, frankly, aren’t working too well. I think I know more about the environment than most." At another point he called himself an environmentalist.
  • White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham waved off Trump's absence at the session as the result of "scheduled meetings and bilaterals" with Germany and India's leaders. Politico points out that both Angela Merkel and Narendra Modi were present at the climate meeting.
(More President Trump stories.)

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