Package deal! Three nights in a suite at Mar-a-Lago and what’s left of America’s dignity.
President Trump’s State Department removed a post promoting his Palm Beach resort after outrage over the misuse of taxpayer resources.
A blog post from the U.S. Embassy in the UK published earlier this month resurfaced Monday when observers noticed the congratulatory tone it used to praise Trump’s frequent visits down to Florida.
The post, which originally appeared on the State Department ShareAmerica platform and also on the U.S. Embassy in Albania, said the resort owner turned commander-in-chief was “belatedly fulfilling the dream” of the original owner who donated it to the government before Trump bought it.
It later lauds the resort itself, saying builder Marjorie Merriweather Post “spared no expense” for it.
The focus on something so close to the President is also a departure for the State Department, whose blogs normally recount officials’ press conferences or praising landmarks such as Frank LLoyd Wright’s Falling Water.
“As the WH plans deep cuts to hunger programs and foreign aid, so nice to see taxpayer money being used responsibly…to promote Mar-a-Lago,” California Democratic Rep. Mark Takano said on Twitter.
“Yes. I am curious @StateDept. Why are taxpayer $$ promoting the President’s private country club,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, also a Democrat, said.
Responding to the controversy, a State Department official told the Daily News that the post was not meant to be a government-sponsored ad for Trump’s business.
“The intention of the article was to inform the public about where the President has been hosting world leaders. We regret any misperception and have removed the post,” the official said.
Trump has put his businesses under the control of his adult sons, but some see his frequent visits to Florida during his first 100 days as a way of bringing attention, and profit, to the resort.
The initiation fee at the club, where Trump has hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping, reportedly doubled to $200,000 around the time he assumed the presidency.
Government Accountability Office officials agreed last month to examine the costs, security issues involved with conducting official business there and the fact that members at Mar-a-Lago would seemingly have special access to the President.
Trump is expected to switch his Mar-a-Lago trips for trips to his gold course in Bedminster, N.J., this summer, though that course has not yet been promoted by the State Department.
Other members of the President’s administration have also been criticized for seemingly using their offices to advance certain businesses, a violation of ethics rules.
Adviser Kellyanne Conway was slammed by Democrats and Republicans in March for praising Ivanka Trump’s fashion line during a television interview and saying, “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff.”
