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GLASGOW – On Monday, President Trump will have a very followed meeting with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, a few days after the announcement of the indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers accused of murder. have hacked democratic organizations in order to influence the election of 2016.
But first, a little golf.
Trump is expected to come out this weekend, sheltered from the public and media, at Trump Turnberry, the luxury resort where he will be staying and what he termed "magical" on the international scene last week. [19659002] Before arriving in Scotland – the birthplace of his mother, as well as that of Mr. Trump's favorite hobby – the president managed to repeatedly plug Turnberry, one of the two Scottish stations that bear his name. The move has alarmed ethics experts, who say they use his presidential platform to promote a resort that, according to financial documents, has been a burden to the family business.
While the President shone a chaotic streak across Europe Last week, Turnberry received special recognition among other sound clips published by Trump that, according to badysts, have undermined US-US relations. United with NATO close allies at the Brussels summit and during a working visit to Britain
. tend to be cynical about the president's sentimental references to his resort: his arrival at Turnberry marks the 169th day of his presidential term when he visited a property owned, managed or tagged by the Trump organization. The financial records show that the station lost money since Mr. Trump paid about $ 60 million to buy it in 2014.
"I see this as a kind of forced subsidy of 39, an infomercial for its properties, "Norman L. Eisen, president of Citizens for Accountability and Ethics in Washington, said in an interview Friday. "He is trying to use his trip to get beneficial public relations"
The president, injecting his flair for reality television into sensitive issues involving military spending, questioned the very ability of the party to do so. NATO to protect itself from the hostile forces, namely Russia, before trying to fix everything in front of the cameras and move on to the next episode.
This propensity was again exposed in England before Mr. Trump left for Scotland on Friday, when he again raised Turnberry at a press conference. with Prime Minister Theresa May of Great Britain
"I opened Turnberry the eve of Brexit," says Mr. Trump, "and all they wanted to talk about was Brexit, and I said : "I think the Brexit will arrive" and that happened. "
"Look, if the pound goes down, they will do more business," said Trump. "When the pound goes down, more people come to Turnberry, frankly."
Although Mr. Trump claimed to have spent at least 200 million pounds, about $ 264 million, on Turnberry to buy and renovate it since 2014 – a figure that has not been verified independently – the course does not have any profit yet.
In fact, Operation Turnberry has lost tens of millions of pounds since its purchase, deposits in Britain show: about £ 17 million in 2016, the last year for which such comprehensive records are available . For 2017, Trump 's government ethics record only reveals the revenue generated by the price – $ 20.4 million – and not the profits made.
This is not the first time that Mr. Trump has been visiting a Trump-owned resort. traveling in his capacity as president. During a 13-day trip to Asia, the president made a 10-minute visit to the Trump International Hotel Waikiki complex.
"The President stopped in front of the Trump Hotel to get to the airport," Sarah Huckabee Sanders White House spokeswoman said in a statement on Monday. ;time. "It was an extremely successful project, and he wanted to say hello and thank you to the employees for their hard work."
An badysis of this trip by the Associated Press showed that Mr. Trump's stopover cost almost $ 141,000, or more than $ 100 a minute. The stop of the president's hotel itself cost the taxpayers $ 1,000.
When we spoke to him about Turnberry Friday, the Trump organization described a successful story. In an e-mail, Amanda Miller, a spokesperson, pointed out some of Turnberry's golfing traditions – including the highly publicized 1977 British Open Championship between legendary golfers Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus
"Turnberry is an icon in the world of golf, and we are incredibly proud of its continued success, "wrote Ms. Miller.The station's Ailsa Golf Course, she said, was" home to four open championships, including the Famous 1977 "Duel in the Sun". "
Ms. Miller did not respond to a request for comment on how the company rated success if the records showed that she was losing money.
Trump seems to have a special place in his heart for Turnberry, perhaps because of his love for golf and his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, born in Tong, a village 300 miles away from Turnberry, north of Scotland.
"I feel very welcome "Here," Mr. Trump told reporters during a 2008 visit to Tong, on the island of Lewis, where he spent about 90 seconds in the modest cottage where his mother was born. "It's interesting when your mother, who was a wonderful woman, comes from a specific place, you tend to like this place.I think I'm Scottish."
Six years later Mr. Trump bought Turnberry for $ 63 million and paid millions more for the restoration of the club.
When Air Force One landed in Scotland on Friday night rolled over by a plane bearing the "TRUMP" logo in block letters, at the sight of hundreds of local residents who had gathered to see the president land. During his one hour drive to his seaside resort, hundreds of onlookers waved a video about the arrival of the president.
The demonstrations that shook London were not yet visible, but demonstrations were planned near Turnberry and near another golf course, in northeastern Scotland, as well as near the United States Consulate in Edinburgh.
The president and his wife, Melania, were not the only members of the Trump family in town: his son Eric, who oversees operations at Trump also in Turnberry. By the time Mr. Trump landed, his son posted a video of Turnberry's flagship on social media. In this one, a bagpiper plays on a cliff in the distance while the camera films towards the sea. Turnberry guests can stay in the lighthouse for around $ 1600 a night.
The Trump organization did not answer a question about the purpose of Eric Trump's visit, but it is closely related to the resort's restoration efforts.
million. Eisen, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, takes a more skeptical stance. He serves as a co-counsel in a lawsuit accusing the president of violating constitutional anti-corruption clauses aimed at limiting the benefits or emoluments granted by the government.
He considers the Trump family's efforts last week as a broader and problematic effort to use the presidency to gain interest for a property that, until now, represented a financial burden.
"Thanks to this trip to Turnberry," said Eisen, "the president is forcing his foreign guests and the United States. spend huge amounts of money so that he can get free advertising for his resort. "
" He is the master of the media acquired, "Eisen added." It's an important part of how he won the presidency, and that's what he's doing. he's doing here. "
Jesse Drucker and Karen Yourish contributed to reports from New York and Eric Lipton from Washington.
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