WH: Trump’s all business
Prez surprise at Doral ire, Mick says
President Trump wanted to host next year’s G-7 summit at his Doral golf property because he still considers himself as in the “hospitality business,” Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday.
“He was honestly surprised at the level of pushback,” Mulvaney told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “At the end of the day he still considers himself to be in the hospitality business.
“And he saw an opportunity to take the biggest leaders from around the world and wanted to put on the absolute best kind of show, the best kind of visit he possibly could,” Mulvaney went on. “He was very comfortable doing that at Doral.”
Mulvaney announced last Thursday that the administration had decided on using the president’s Miami golf property to host next June’s G-7 gathering — but Trump backtracked Saturday night amid a torrent of criticism.
In a series of tweets, Trump blamed the “Media & Democrat[s] Crazed and Irrational Hostility” for the cancellation.
“We did talk about it last night and I honestly think what you saw in the tweet was real,” Mulvaney told Wallace. “The president, he isn’t one for holding back his feelings and his emotions about something.”
Wallace pushed back on Mulvaney’s original comment.
“You say he considers himself to be in the hospitality business? He’s president of the United States,” the Fox newsman said.
“Yeah, but that’s his background,” Mulvaney responded. “It’s like, I used to be in the realestate business. I don’t know what you used to do before media.”
Wallace noted that journalism was all he’s ever done.
“He wanted to put on a show,” Mulvaney continued. “He wanted to take care of folks. He’s in the hotel business. Or at least he was before he was president.”
Wallace then asked if the president understood why the pick of Doral looked “lousy.”
“I think he knows . . . people think it looks lousy,” Mulvaney said.
Mulvaney added that members of the administration, beyond just the president, were surprised the Doral decision garnered so much criticism.
“I think it’s the right decision to change,” the acting chief of staff said. “We’ll have to find someplace else. And my guess is we’ll find someplace else that the media won’t like either for another reason.”