Donald Trump takes part in a 2022 LIV event at Trump National Doral Golf Club.Lynne Sladky/AP
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Donald Trump famously doesn’t pay much attention to critics who complain about his many conflicts of interests and attempts to use the presidency to enrich himself. But in 2019, his attempt to host the G-7 summit at his Doral golf course outside of Miami was a rare example of the critics winning out. Asking a half-dozen of the world’s most powerful leaders and their large entourages to pay to stay in his hotel rooms was a step too far. Trump relented and said the summit would be staged elsewhere; it was ultimately cancelled due to COVID.
When Trump suggested Doral for a 2019 summit, the idea went over like a lead balloon.
But Trump never really backs down, and he’s come back with an even bigger plan for Doral, announcing on Friday that it would host next year’s G-20 summit—which features an additional 13 global leaders and entourages in need of hotel rooms and room service.
In his Friday announcement of his plan to stage the major international event at his Doral property, Trump said that “everybody wants it there because it’s right next to the airport. It’s the best location. It’s beautiful.” Trump even told reporters that G-20 officials had asked that it be at the resort.
Trump insisted the decision to have the giant summit at his own property wasn’t about making money. “We’re doing a deal where it’s not going to be money. There’s no money in it,” he said. “I just want it to go well.”
Of course someone will have to pay for the cost of shutting down the giant resort and moving in the world’s leaders for the three-day conference—not to mention time needed before and after for logistical and security purposes.
Doral was built in the early 1960s and for decades hosted PGA tournaments, but in recent years had become known for being increasingly shabby. Trump borrowed $125 million from Deutsche Bank to buy the property out of bankruptcy in 2012 and has been working on it ever since. He has refinanced the loan with Axos Bank, a California bank owned by a supporter who has helped Trump shore up mortgages at his other resorts.
In 2019, revenue at the Doral property had dropped significantly, but in his most recent personal financial disclosures, it seems to have picked up. It is unclear if the property is profitable.
When Trump suggested Doral as a location for the G-7 conference in 2019, the idea went over like a lead balloon. European leaders made it clear they were not interested in paying to stay at his resort, and both Congressional Republicans and Democrats quickly threw cold water on the scheme.
At the time, Republican Sen. Mike Simpson of Idaho told reporters he couldn’t get behind the idea. “You have to go out and try to defend him. Well, I don’t know if I can do that!” Simpson said at the time. “I have no doubt that Doral is a really good place—I’ve been there, I know. But it is politically insensitive. They should have known what the kickback is going to be on this, that politically he’s doing it for his own benefit.”
On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Simpson has seen the light, with a spokesperson telling the paper said the senator now supports holding the summit at Trump’s resort.
