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
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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
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Donald Trump could not appear to focus during his first briefing of his presidency with top-level officials at the Pentagon, according to a stunning new account written by former Defence Secretary James Mattis’ chief speech writer.
Guy Snodgrass, who served as Mr Mattis’ speech writer until the former defence secretary left the administration in December 2018, detailed the president’s first briefing in which he was expected to learn about all of the places around the world with US forces and embassies.
“That is not at all what happened,” Mr Snodgrass wrote in a Politico article on Monday. The report is adapted from his new book, Holding the Line: Inside Trump’s Pentagon With Secretary Mattis.
Story to come...
Here's my story on Donald Trump's first Pentagon briefing as reported by former Defence Secretary James Mattis' chief speechwriter:
Donald Trump is holding a Cabinet meeting at the White House right now and has just brought in the media. Quotes/video coming in shortly...
The president appears to be claiming the Emolument's Clause is "phony" after swift backlash to his decision to host the upcoming G7 summit at his private resort. Trump has since rescinded that decision:
Donald Trump said the Democrats are "vicious, and they stick together" while slamming Mitt Romney. He's also attacking the whistleblower again, claiming the anonymous individual "gave a totally false account of my conversation" with Ukraine.
"Maybe the informant was Schiff, was Shifty Schiff," Donald Trump said. "He's a crooked politician, very bad for our country. This whole thing is bad for our country."
This is a wild new accusation from the president, which he made just now without any evidence whatsoever:
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