Trump news: President claims Adam Schiff is an 'informant' while slamming 'phony' Emoluments Clause in rambling Cabinet meeting
'I was willing to do this thing for free,' president claims after reversing decision to host G7 at his private resort
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has complained after pulling back his announcement that the next G7 summit of world leaders would be held at his Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, raging that the media and his Democratic opposition concerned about conflict of interest failed to mention that “NO PROFITS would be taken”.
On the Sunday talk show circuit, the president’s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney defended the president's original plan by arguing he is “in the hospitality business” while ex-Republican congressman Justin Amash accused him of treating US troops “as paid mercenaries” by relocating them to Iraq and Saudi Arabia rather than bringing them home from war-torn Syria.
The president lashed out Monday at critics who prompted him to move next year's Group of Seven summit from his private golf club in Florida, claiming he would have hosted it for free and now it will end up costing taxpayers "a fortune."
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Mr Trump said it would have been the greatest G-7 ever if held at his Doral resort outside Miami, but "Democrats went crazy" with criticisms that he would have violated the "phony" emoluments clause in the Constitution banning presidents from receiving gifts from foreign countries.
"I was willing to do this for free," Mr Trump said Monday, comparing it to his decision not to take his presidential salary. "It will cost a fortune for the country."
He brushed aside the criticism that hosting the summit would have been one big promotion for his brand.
Mr Trump said: "You don't think I get enough promotion? I get more promotion than any human being that's ever lived."
The president reversed course Saturday on hosting the G-7 at Doral after Republicans joined Democrats in raising alarm.
His acting chief of staff said that the president had realised that "it looks lousy" to steer business to his own property.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s 2016 rival Hillary Clinton has meanwhile posted a ruthless Cold War-era parody of his letter to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, in which Mr Trump had begged Mr Erdogan not to carpet bomb America’s Kurdish allies by imploring: “Don’t be a tough guy, don’t be a fool!”
Mr Mulvaney said last week that Doral was "far and away" the best venue because of its location near the Miami airport and separate buildings to host each country's delegation.
He listed more than a half dozen states visited in the screening process, including Tennessee, North Carolina, Hawaii and Utah. But convention, economic development and tourism officials in several of those states said they were unaware of any visits, and some didn't even know their state was in the running.
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our live blog to load
Democratic 2020 candidate and Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg finds himself in third place in Iowa according to a new poll, trailing Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren in the early caucas state.
Buttigieg is on 13 per cent, Warren on 17 per cent and Biden on 18 per cent in the latest findings from Suffolk University/USA Today.
Bernie Sanders is fourth on nine per cent while support for California senator Kamala Harris has plummeted 13 percentage points since June, leaving her in a four-way tie in sixth place with Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer.
Speaking of Buttigieg, Bloomberg is reporting that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been recommending new campaign hires to him on the quiet.
The Wall Street Journal has been poking around the private Instagram account of Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-American business associate of Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Parnas was arrested along with Igor Fruman in Florida recently for campaign finance violations.
There are plenty of snaps of the him with members of the Trump clan and inner circle.
The latest merchandise offerings from Team Trump include T-shirts bemoaning the impeachment inquiry one asking "Where's Hunter?", which already feels like a failed catchphrase and is $5 cheaper than the style below.
For Halloween, you can get a "Keep America Great Pumpkin Hat" for a whopping $45. Scary.
For Indy100, Darren Richman has your latest meme round-up on US secretary of defence "Mark Esperanto".
Mulvaney appears to have received the vote of confidence despite his disastrous display last Thursday and awkward defence of it yesterday on Fox News Sunday.
An update on this week's impeachment inquiry courtesy of the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget.
That leaves the scheduled in DC looking like this:
- Tuesday: Bill Taylor, acting US ambassador to Ukraine
- Wednesday: Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasian affairs
- Wednesday: Russ Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget
- Wednesday: Michael Duffey, associate director for national security programmes at the White House Office of Management and Budget
- Thursday: Alexander Vindman, director of European affairs at the national security council
- Thursday: Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia
- Friday: Suriya Jayanti, Foreign Service officer stationed in Kiev
- Friday: Timothy Morrison, national security council Russia adviser
Fox's Jeanine Piro has been interviewing Eric Trump.
Frost/Nixon it ain't.
Eric hits out at Democratic "hypocrisy" and says Hillary Clinton's recent attacks are just the result of bitterness because her new book is "being discounted in every book store in the country for like 99 cents".
The duo then fixate on the burning of MAGA hats in Minneapolis as a means of attacking the left.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments