Trump’s big cat furs from Saudis show true stripes

DONALD TRUMP was given fur robes from a rare white tiger and cheetah by Saudi Arabia while president, prompting an inquiry by officials who discovered that the presents were fake.

The Saudi royal family showered Mr Trump and his team with more than 80 gifts when he made his first foreign trip as president in May 2017, including the three robes and a dagger that appeared to be made from ivory.

A lawyer at the White House determined that possession of the furs and dagger most likely violated the Endangered Species Act.

They were also required to declare any such gifts given by foreign governments. However, The New York Times reported that the Trump administration failed to hand them over until his final day in office in January.

It was not until they made it to the US Fish and Wildlife Service this summer that officials realised they were not even real. “Wildlife inspectors and special agents determined the linings of the robes were dyed to mimic tiger and cheetah patterns and were not comprised of protected species,” a spokesman for the Interior Department said.

The State Department recently disclosed a list of 82 gifts from the Saudis to Trump administration officials on the trip in response to a Freedom of Information Act.

Officials at the Saudi embassy in Washington declined to comment. A spokesman for Mr Trump did not return a message seeking comment.

The State Department’s inspector general continues to pursue the whereabouts of a $5,800 (£4,200) bottle of whiskey from the Japanese government given to Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, who claims he never received it.

It is also investigating allegations that Mr Trump’s political appointees walked off with gift bags worth thousands of dollars meant for foreign leaders at the G7 summit planned for Camp David in 2020, which was cancelled because of the pandemic. The bags contained leather portfolios and marble trinket boxes with the presidential seal.