Trump again defends Doral G7 plan despite weekend reversal

President Donald Trump on Monday lamented that his Trump National Doral resort would no longer be hosting the 2020 G7 and blamed Democrats for his weekend decision to cancel the plan, which was criticized by members of both parties.

Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on bureaucratic waste that he had been offering use of the resort for free, and claimed he doesn’t need to promote his businesses as president.

“You don’t think I get enough promotion?” Trump said the meeting. “I get more promotion than any human being that’s ever lived… some good, some bad.”

Trump continued: “I don’t need promotion. I was willing to do this for free and it would have been the greatest G7 ever.”

Trump announced in a Saturday evening tweet that the summit would no longer be held at Doral, just 48 hours after acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney made the announcement from the White House briefing room podium, drawing immediate bipartisan criticism.

In his tweet, the President called the rising criticism his administration was facing “Irrational Hostility,” and wrote, “I thought I was doing something very good for our Country by using Trump National Doral, in Miami, for hosting the G-7 Leaders.”

Trump then continued to promote the Doral club, noting its proximity to the airport and size.

The President also noted that he gives away his presidential salary, claiming he was the only president to do so, though he immediately added: “George Washington may have been the only other.”

Trump also referenced former President Barack Obama’s Netflix production deal, something Trump has repeatedly griped about. The deal is not subject to the constitutional limits on presidential profit-making because it was made after Obama was out of office.

Asked where the G7 summit will take place, Trump said his team is “looking at other locations I don’t think it’ll be as exciting,” adding that it will be much more expensive for the country. “It’ll cost a fortune for the country.”