Donald Trump to host G7 summit at his Miami golf resort – and Vladimir Putin could be invited
- Unprecedented move will reignite claims that Trump is profiting from presidency, with foreign leaders having to pay his private business to attend
- US president had previously pitched luxury property as site for world leaders’ meeting, saying each country could ‘have their own villa’
Donald Trump’s Doral golf resort in Miami will be the site of next year’s Group of Seven summit, the White House said on Thursday, a decision that will reignite claims that he is violating a constitutional prohibition against profiting from the presidency.
The announcement by Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney came as the president is facing an impeachment inquiry in the House. Trump has been attacking rival presidential candidate Joe Biden, saying that when he was vice-president, he used his position to further his son Hunter’s business interests.
“It’s almost like they build this facility to host this type of event,” Mulvaney told reporters at the White House, saying “a lot of the same criteria” used for past summits were applied to choosing the site. He said the president “will not be profiting here” and that Doral will be much less expensive than alternatives.
The president pitched hosting the 2020 G7 summit at Trump National Doral at this year’s August gathering of leaders in Biarritz, France, saying that the luxury property is “very big” and that each country could “have their own villa, or their own bungalow”.
With the host setting much of agenda for a G7 meeting, Mulvaney said that Trump could invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend, although he said that issue has not come up yet. He also said that climate change is not on the agenda.