President Donald Trump has abruptly reversed plans to host the next G7 world leaders’ summit at his Florida golf resort next year.
He announced the backtrack on Saturday after facing accusations of using his presidency to enrich himself by hosting the international meeting in Miami at his private Doral resort.
The U-turn comes just days after his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, held a press conference announcing Doral as the summit’s venue – insisting at the time it was ‘far and away the best physical facility’.
Mr Mulvaney said the White House had come to the decision after visiting 10 sites across the country including Camp David – which at one time had been renamed ‘Shangri-La’ after the fictional Himalayan paradise – which was apparently ruled out for being too small by the billionaire president’s team.
The issue was first floated by President Trump in August when he mentioned Doral was on the short-list and praised its facilities and proximity to Miami’s international airport.
It drew instant criticism from good governance groups and Democrats, who said it raised concerns Mr Trump was using the White House for his own personal financial gain.
Claims by the President that he would host the G7 summit at cost, although he refused to disclose the financial details, were also dismissed with opponents pointing out the free PR it would generate for the course.
Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the reversal ‘is a bow to reality, but does not change how astonishing it was that a president ever thought this was appropriate, or that it was something he could get away with’.
Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden also condemned the selection of Doral saying: ‘Hosting the G7 at Trump’s hotel? A president should never be able to use the office for personal gain.’
The president then displayed his anger at having to make the climbdown and tweeted: ‘Based on both Media & Democrat Crazed and Irrational Hostility, we will no longer consider Trump National Doral, Miami, as the Host Site for the G-7 in 2020.’
He added that his administration ‘will begin the search for another site, including the possibility of Camp David, immediately.’
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