Stuck in a Russiagate-collusion rut: Putin ‘owns Doral’ & other #Resistance pearls after G7 location announced
Critics of US President Donald Trump went into full-on meltdown mode after the White House announced that the US will host next year’s G7 summit at the Trump-owned Miami resort.
White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters on Thursday that the gathering of international leaders will be held at the Trump National Doral resort on June 10-12, which he said was “far and away the best place” to host the event.
Even before his press conference was done, Democrats waxed outraged about a potential conflict of interest, even calling for other countries to boycott the G7 if Trump went ahead with his venue plans.
I’m going to go ahead & say it... if the President decides to go ahead & hold the next G7 meeting at his OWN property, which is clearly a conflict of interest, the rest of the countries should boycott it & have their own G6 meeting. Especially if 45 invites Putin.
— Cat F (@catikins9) October 17, 2019
Dear G7 leaders: please boycott the next meeting at trump's Doral property. Send a clear message that the world isn't okay with him committing crimes.
— Forest Linden. (@forestlinden) October 17, 2019
One author, seemingly stuck in a ‘Russiagate collusion’ loop, suggested the decision was not so surprising since Russian President Vladimir Putin “owns Doral.” (Fact check: He doesn’t.)
Of course they’re going to host the G7 summit at Doral because Vladimir Putin owns Doral.
— Jason Overstreet (@JasonOverstreet) October 17, 2019
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman was angered not so much by “the audaciousness of the corruption” but by its “sheer pettiness,” while Washington Post op-ed writer Holly O'Reilly slammed the “utterly shameless” decision.
What gets me isn't so much the audaciousness of the corruption as its sheer pettiness https://t.co/o61TsYv3JD
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) October 17, 2019
Shameless. Utterly shameless. And utterly predictable.Mulvaney says that Trump has awarded next year’s G-7 summit of world leaders to his Miami-area resort, Doral. #thursdaythoughts#pelosiownstrumphttps://t.co/yPfvCIs5sb
— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) October 17, 2019
Former Obama administration aide turned MSNBC analyst Matthew Miller raged that Mulvaney was “openly praising” the president's private business “from the White House podium.”
Mulvaney isn't just defending selecting Doral for the G7, he's openly praising how great a facility the president's private business is from the White House podium.
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) October 17, 2019
Adding insult to injury, Mulvaney added that Trump might even dare to invite Putin to the gathering of world leaders. Such an invite would, “for all intents and purposes” turn the G7 “back into the G8,” tweeted MSNBC correspondent Chris Jansing. However, no one seems to have paid attention to Mulvaney when he clearly said that the matter of inviting Putin hadn’t come up at all, suggesting some rather selective hearing was at work.
Russia's G8 membership was suspended in 2014 over the Ukraine crisis, but Trump said recently he would support Moscow's reentry into the group.
As host, the WH is not ruling out inviting Putin to the G7, turning it for all intents and purposes back into the G8... if not formally so
— Chris Jansing (@ChrisJansing) October 17, 2019
Prolific Twitter conspiracist Marcy Wheeler said it was “quite clear” that hosting at Doral “is the cover for inviting Putin” which was a “payoff” to Russia for supposedly delivering the 2016 election to Trump. The #Resistance refuses to let that particular conspiracy theory go, even after a two-year probe by special counsel Robert Muller failed to find any evidence whatsoever for it.
The 643-room resort and conference center has seen sales and profits drop since Trump became president. Yet Trump’s critics have taken this indication that his business is not profiting from his presidency into proof positive that he is violating the constitutional prohibition on “emoluments” from foreign governments.
How bad does @realdonaldtrump’s Doral need this business? Look what’s happened there during his presidency. In ONE YEAR, from ‘16-‘17:—revenue fell 13.8%—Net operating income fell 62% pic.twitter.com/RTr9OST3wd
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) October 17, 2019
Mulvaney said that Trump will not profit from the summit “in any way, shape or form.”
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