White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham cursorily addressed the conflict of interest inherent in hosting the G-7 summit at President Donald Trump’s Doral resort, the first acknowledgement of the issue from the administration.
“Everything will be done at cost due to the emoluments clause,” Grisham told the Washington Post, “which means the summit would be significantly cheaper for taxpayers and our foreign guests.”
Grisham seemed to argue that by only charging cost for the event, Trump would avoid running afoul of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause.
She added that a committee may also be set up to funnel private donations into the event, which could create additional conflicts of interest.
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney announced Thursday that the 2020 summit will be held at the struggling Doral resort in Miami, at Trump’s suggestion.
Mulvaney brushed off all questions about the entanglement during the press conference.
“I get the criticisms, so does he. Face it, he’d be criticized regardless of what he chose to do. So no, there is no issue here on him profiting from this in any way, shape or form,” he said, before moving on to critique former Vice President Joe Biden.
