felixmizioznikov/iStock(BIARRITZ, France) — President Donald Trump said Monday he will not “make any money” if the 2020 G-7 summit is held at his Miami, Florida, golf resort as he is considering.
“In my opinion, I’m not going to make any money. I don’t want to make money. I don’t care about making money … It’s not about me, it’s about getting the right location.” Trump told reporters during his joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The United States is slated to host the 2020 Group of Seven summit, and while the exact location for the meeting of the world’s top leaders has not been locked down, Trump for the first time Monday confirmed that the Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort is in the running to host the summit.
The president touted the proximity of the resort to the airport as well as its size as reasons why officials “haven’t found anything that’s even close to competing with it” to host the next meeting of the most powerful world leaders.
“Doral happens to be … only five minutes from the airport, the airport’s right next door,” he said. “And by the way, my people looked at 12 sites, all good, but some were two hours from the airport, some four hours.
Trump added, “The ballrooms are among the biggest in Florida, and the best,” Trump said. “Each country can have their own villa, or their own bungalow, and the bungalows like I say have a lot of units in them.”
The president also insisted that he has lost anywhere between $3 and $5 billion by becoming president, adding that this is evidence for why he is not concerned about about making money. However, the president has not divested from his company and real estate properties. His visits alone to his properties have brought in at least $1.6 million in revenue, according to an analysis from the Washington Post.
The decision to not divest from his corporation has drawn both scrutiny and legal challenges from critics who argue that this is a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prevents presidents from accepting outside gifts or payments.
The U.S. last hosted the G-7 summit (which was then the G-8 and included Russia, who was expelled in 2014 and which Trump has now proposed to readmit) in 2012 at Camp David in Maryland.
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