Tag: President Greedy

So Pence has government business in Dublin so he books himself and his retinue into Trump’s golf course on the opposite side of Ireland so that Trump can squeeze some more $$$$ out of his fun government job, and who pays for the extra travel between Dublin and Doonbeg? Trump? Pence? Hahahaha don’t be silly; we do.

Mike Pence’s controversial visit to President Trump’s resort in Doonbeg is slated to cost taxpayers $599,454.36 in limousine service alone, according to State Department contracts reviewed by CREW.

The choice to stay at Trump’s Irish resort in Doonbeg was both highly inconvenient, and extremely expensive. Located 181 miles away on the opposite side of the country from Pence’s meetings in Dublin, Doonbeg was far from a convenient location.

It’s not as if there are no hotels in Dublin after all. Dublin is both the capital and a major tourist destination. People go to Dublin on purpose to look at things; Doonbeg not so much. Dublin has an array of hotels to serve all needs and budgets. Pence and retinue could have stayed in Dublin.

Pence’s $600k limo bill does not even cover the full cost of the trip, because it excludes the cost of Secret Service detail and lodging. CREW sent a Freedom of Information Act request for Secret Service records for a more complete picture of what the detour cost taxpayers.

The stay at Doonbeg was so ethically dubious that it has already sparked a congressional inquiry. So far, the Trump organization has provided no satisfying answers to ethics questions about the trip. Pence’s stay at the Trump golf course has been variously explained by the administration as Trump’s suggestion that Pence stay at the resort, visiting Pence’s family in Doonbeg, and the fact that Secret Service had already vetted to property. Trump insists on Twitter that it had nothing to do with him. The administration’s constantly changing story calls the real motivation in to question, but what is clear is that the detour was not convenient, and it did not come cheap.

Well sure, but the point is, the profit went to Trump and the expenses went to us.

Trump is directing government money into his own pocket? Cool, say his people, let’s do more of that.

In light of the coverage, headlines, and initiated investigations, it stood to reason that the president and others in his orbit would exercise some caution in this area, at least for a while. But while that may have seemed like common sense, Team Trump chose a brazen course. The Washington Post reported on Thursday:

Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are scheduled to speak this week at President Trump’s hotel in Washington – lending their names to events put on by a paying customer of Trump’s private business.

The planned speeches suggest that President Trump and his Cabinet are not shying away from events that drive revenue to Trump’s company, even after multiple stories have brought new scrutiny to the blurring of lines between Trump’s business and presidency.

Pence spoke on Thursday at a gala hosted by Concerned Women for America, a prominent group in the religious right movement, while Pompeo appeared a day later at a “celebration luncheon” put on by the same organization.

At Trump’s DC hotel.

It was against this backdrop that Pompeo thought it’d be funny to tell a little joke about the circumstances. “I look around, this is such a beautiful hotel,” the cabinet secretary said. “The guy who owns it must have been successful somewhere along the way.” He added, “That was for the Washington Post.”

Hurr hurr hurr. Yes, it’s only libbruls who care about corruption and self-dealing and the emoluments clause; red-blooded manly Americans are all for it.