'You don't have to be undercover': Reporter shows how foreign agents infiltrate Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump is being used by foreign agents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, and they don't even have to go undercover to do it, a New York Times investigative reporter said on Saturday.
David A. Fahrenthold, who often writes about nonprofit organizations, appeared on MSNBC over the weekend to discuss a recent Times report about Mar-a-Lago. Specifically, he and his colleagues wrote about how extremism is good for business at the resort, saying "Mar-a-Lago has transformed into a White House in exile and the nerve center for some of the most extreme elements of the party’s MAGA wing."
On Saturday, the host asked Fahrenthold about what certain entities can get when they "invest" their cash in the resort. She then cited the recent visit by Viktor Orbán of Hungary.
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"What have you learned, if anything, about trips to Mar-a-Lago by foreign government agents?" she asked.
The reporter replied that, when Trump was president, he "used it as a way to host foreign dignitaries."
"The president of Japan was there twice," he said, adding that "those made money for Trump" because "his club charged the U.S. government for everything."
"That was a big moneymaker for him," he said, noting that now foreign governments come to meet Trump there to signal their alignment with the former president's policies or vision.
"We don't know any examples of spies, undercover agents there. But you don't need to be undercover. If you're just someone who represents that government, it's better for you to be seen. We saw during Trump's presidency and after... politicians and elected leaders from other countries that want to show their alignment with Trump, that is where you go. You take that thumbs-up picture just like Viktor Orbán did."