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Nearly six years ago, Donald Trump came up with a rather outlandish plan. As the White House made plans to host a G7 summit, the president decided that the ideal location for the international gathering would be at the Doral resort he owns in the Miami area.
Two days later, amid bipartisan pushback, the Republican abandoned the plan and presented himself as a victim.
Six years later, the United States is preparing to host a G20 summit. Take a wild guess where the president wants to hold it. NBC News reported:
President Donald Trump announced Friday that the Group of 20 summit for next year will be held at a resort his family business owns in Florida. Trump National Doral is ‘the best location’ for the two-day event, the president told reporters in the Oval Office.
As part of the announcement, the president said “everybody” wants the international gathering to be held at the Trump Organization’s for-profit venue, although he failed to note who that included.
He added that the club won’t make money from the event and might even be worse off financially by hosting.
Given that he backed off under pressure in 2019, it’s possible that could happen again and his plans will have to change. That said, several Republicans were willing to push back against the effort six years ago, and since then, they’ve either retired, joined the Trump administration or been cowed into submission.
The Democratic pushback is already underway. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island recently told CNN, “Trump’s inability to steer away from self-dealing, for himself, his family, and his business interests, as president, creates all kinds of risks of corruption.
“And those risks are worsened when you’re dealing with international relations, with opportunities for foreign governments and foreign officials to curry favor — or even flat-out buy favor — in the way they do business with Trump’s personal and business interests. So yeah, it’s a real concern. It’s a continuing concern.”
It’s also worth considering the differences between passive and active corruption.
The U.S. Constitution includes a provision known as the “Emoluments Clause,” which prohibits U.S. officials from receiving payments from foreign governments. Traditionally, this hasn’t been much of a problem for sitting American presidents. In the Trump era, things are a little different.
For years, the president and his allies have claimed that he simply promotes Trump-branded products and benefits from Trump-branded properties, but that it’s entirely passive. The Republican, to the best of our knowledge, has never told officials from a foreign government that they had to buy his merchandise, golf on one of his courses or stay at one of his resorts.
And while that defense has never been altogether persuasive, the argument underscores why the G20 issue is qualitatively different: Trump’s plan is rooted in active corruption, not passive corruption.
The incumbent American president, in no uncertain terms, is prepared to tell some of the world’s most powerful leaders that if they wish to participate in an international gathering, they have to spend money at a business owned by the Trump Organization.
It’s conscious. It’s deliberate. It’s direct. Trump should know the Constitution prevents him from receiving payments from foreign governments, but he’s apparently prepared to pursue the gambit anyway — not just welcoming foreign money, but insisting upon it.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.