TRUMP: BEING US PRESIDENT HAS COST ME $2BN TO $5BN

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that being president has cost him between $2 billion and $5 billion that he would have made if he had continued running his business instead of getting into politics, a claim unsupported by evidence.

He also told reporters, “If I had it to do it again I would do it in an instant, because who cares, if you can afford it, what difference does it make?”

There is no evidence that Trump lost billions since he became US president. His net wort h o f $ 3 . 1 b i l l i o n was unchanged from last year, Forbes Magazine said in March.

After Trump made a similar claim in August, Forbes wrote “Trump is not losing $3 billion to $5 billion. His income isn’t anywhere near $3 billion.”

While Trump’s personal fortune held steady over the past year, he vaulted higher on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people as dozens of his fellow tycoons suffered financial setbacks while his real estate holdings held their value better.

Unlike other recent US presidents, Trump has refused to release his income tax returns and has battled Congress and the courts to keep his finances under wraps.

On Monday, Trump expressed annoyance at having to reverse his decision to stage the Group of Seven summit in June at his Trump National Doral golf resort in the Miami area.

His plan to have the event at Doral drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats who said it gave the impression that he was profiting from being president.

Trump dismissed what he called “phony emoluments clause,” a line in the US Constitution that says presidents may not profit from their offices.