The Trump Administration has long had a troubling pattern of referencing Trump properties or products, including ethics warnings being given high-ranking officials. Other complaints, including those filed in federal court, allege that use of Trump properties like the Trump Hotel in Washington constitute unconstitutional emoluments. That history makes President Donald Trump’s recent tweet pitching the Trump golf course in Scotland all the more baffling, particularly when it made a direct reference to the golf course between great for the “U.K. relationship” with the United States.
Trump tweeted about his Scotland course in Aberdeenshire as “perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world” and declared that the course was “close to ideal” as a landscape with “no weak holes.”
Trump further insisted that it “furthers U.K. relationship!”
The White House has maintained that the President’s tweets are official presidential statements. That makes such a pitch even more concerning.
For obvious reasons, ethics experts cried foul.
The Scotland course has been a controversy for years after Trump promised thousands of jobs and a windfall of tax revenues. Instead, it has a fraction of the promise labor force and is reportedly losing a million dollars a year.
The President cannot maintain separation from his family properties and businesses if he is pitching the virtues of golf courses. While I remain skeptical of emoluments arguments, the tweet is another highly inappropriate communication that only undermines the position of the Trump legal team.
I assume George wants Trump’s tax returns made public as well.
Link to reports at the site.
“…The Clinton Foundation’s model has continued to be affirmed as effective by independent
philanthropic watchdogs. In the last few months, three charity evaluators have awarded the Clinton
Foundation top ratings – Charity Navigator renewed its ranking of four out of four stars; GuideStar
renewed the Foundation’s Platinum rating; and the Better Business Bureau accredited the Clinton
Foundation as meeting all 20 of the BBB’s standards for governance, effectiveness, finance, and
fundraising. In addition, the American Institute of Philanthropy’s “Charity Watch” has awarded the
Clinton Foundation an “A” rating for its financial performance….”
https://www.clintonfoundation.org/sites/default/files/clinton_foundation_report_public_2016.pdf
Trump said if he was President, he would not have the time to play golf. A very good example of when Obama golfed, the right went crazy. Now Trump promotes his properties and golf courses while being paid by the American people and the response from the right is silence. By the way, he has broke every record for a President in vacation days at this point by miles, and played more golf.
I approved of Obama playing golf. it’s a good relaxing form of exercise. POTUS is a hard job. Good for Trump for golfing too.
And we all know there are no vacations for any POTUS, just working vacations, so what does that matter anyhow. Hillary was a hard worker, everybody knows that. I can find hard workers easy, they’re a dime a dozen in the unemployment line. POTUS is a job that calls for other talents, hard worker is assumed and proven by the electoral process. Nobody wins that unless they can work hard. Especially the primaries.
Now, Fish, I know it stinks when I have to explain the obvious, I am not a good teacher. But try and mull this over and work it out on your own.
You explaining the obvious that the POTUS is a hard job does nothing to show that Trump is up for the job. So try to keep up that the POTUS is not up, nor will he ever be up for the job. He is way over his head in the swamp of his own making.
The President cannot maintain separation from his family properties and businesses if he is pitching the virtues of golf courses. While I remain skeptical of emoluments arguments, the tweet is another highly inappropriate communication that only undermines the position of the Trump legal team.
Are you this twee in meatspace?
Anonymous old fellow! There is a job for you right down the street at the buggy whip factory.
I don’t use any social media.
But as for useful it’s obvious they all have their place depending on the literacy and intelligence levels targeted
So the analogy immediately leaped into my mind and fingers and this page.
Town Crier. Gutty old fellow! Do you really think these typ what oh’s are really going to have a a significant bearing on the world we live in?
Guttenberg. TC there is a job for down the street in the buggy whip factory.
Mike, weblog reader comments is what came BEFORE social media got big. Here we are using a precursor. Social media kind of superseded this form, for the most part. But social media stovepipes it into networks, which is why using this form on political questions is still worthwhile
Today Trump will resign and go to Mar A Lago for good.
Bwaaaaahahahahahahahahahhahahahha!!!!!!
Not likely…
Oh course the Orange Turd is going to line his pockets.
It’s ALL ABOUT MONEY.
Legal, does not even enter into their orbit.
He wants to rake it all in……while he can.
Hopefully, not for much longer….
Since most media in the U.S. tends to be outrage focused, what difference is there between this “under fire for X” and “under fire for Y”?
No matter what the president does, there will be outrage and he will be under fire–even if he does something altruistic or remarkable. So why should he bother trying to please his opponents?
Though only the president knows for certain, if I was in his shoes I would relish in the freedom my detractors granted me in their being perpetually outraged. Since there obviously is no pleasing them I might as well do what I want. In the end, their reaction to me would be the same but I would get what I want and win anyway.
Plus, there could be the additional benefit and entertainment of watching them get so angry at life that they will pop a cork each time I devote one minute to type out a tweet, and to watch them make asses of themselves as they foam at the mouth with rage and vapidity. It would be like Ferris Buehler with his crank call to Ed Rooney. Ferris could sit back and have a cup of coffee while Rooney and Grace tore the office upside down in disarray.
What’s surprising? He and his family have been using the WH and the presidency for personal gain since before he was even inaugurated!
I am really sick of constant “he shouldn’t have said this or “he shouldn’t have done that”. Previous Presidents had more State Dinners. Those cost thousands of dollars, but they were never challenged. Obama played golf a lot and no one complained. Pick, pick, pick, that’s all we hear. We used to get visuals of these dinners, but not his. And about the length of his time talking to CPAC, I heard lots of laughing and cheering. I haven’t seen any complaints from the audience who were, after all, the reason for the speech
Pay attention unless you like being as stupid as Darren.
Mr. Smith admitted that Trump is a prankster, just like Ferris Bueller. Maybe he’s catching on. Oh no! Now I’m stupid, too.
“Now I’m stupid, too.”
Making a career as a paid troll for David Brock, living in a psychotic state this troll job means more than anything else in you life, make you stupid alright….and pretty worthless as a human being
You keep on forgetting The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola. Assuming that you ever dabbled in them in the first place.
It’s nothing but Saul Alinski’s Rules for Radicals with you from first to last and through and through. Well, at least you dropped the false moniker. It’ll be back later in the day, though. Won’t it, Be-A-Straw-Man?
Attacking other people reflects poorly on you.
The same Republicans who cried everytime Obama golfed now adore the country-club owner who gets paid at taxpayer expense to golf at his own clubs while getting paid at taxpayer expense. U-S-A, U-S-A.
i used to say, it great Obama golfs. Fun and relaxing exercise. POTUS is a tough job.
Wait. All I hear on the Turley blog is that Professor Turley’s doing this event, Professor Turley’s doing that event, Professor Turley’s rubbing elbows with royalty. Professor Turley’s dinning with bureaucrats and luminaries of one sort or another, etc. I mean, Professor Turley is Professor Turley’s product and it is incessantly promoted ubiquitously. Don’t get me wrong, I like Professor Turley’s success but the M.O. is not dissimilar from President Trump’s. Products, services, influence, clout, reputation, etc., it all boils down to money, right?
Really? You don’t see the difference? Good grief.
Anonymous–Really? You don’t see the similarity? Good grief!
Hillary and Bill Clinton accepting bribes and donations to the Clinton “Foundation”, Hillary giving away our uranium, outrageous speaking fees to the Clintons for favors, the Clinton “Russian Collusion”, Obama telling Putin “now when I win re-election, I will offer you the moon!”, and on and on….!
Why don’t the hypocrites on this blog ever criticize or even mention the Clinton expertise on”pay to play”??
Because they are talking about current politics, and neither Clinton is currently in office. If there should be criminal investigations of them, go ahead and get them done. There are agencies tasked with conducting investigations into possible criminal activity and they should do the job. That is completely separate from the issues involved in the sitting President using his office to act as pitchman for a private business as an ongoing matter of concern.
The Clinton Foundation is an A rated charity – unlike the Trump Foundation, look it up – from which Bill and Hillary receive no pay or other benefits.
Hillary did not give away or sell any uranium to anyone and never had the power to do that – look it up
Every president – including Reagan, HW, and W made millions in speaking fees. They are outrageous, but SOP for that group.
Putin hates Hillary who was tough on Russia. Our intelligence agencies, the FBI, and the Senate Intelligence Comm – led by the GOP – agree Russia tried to help Trump beat Hillary.
Obama’s comment was to the then Russian president – not Putin – during the eventually unsuccessful “reset” though it did accomplish a new arms treaty and cooperation on Iran and other common interests.
Turn all the books of The Clinton Foundation, since its inception, over to the firms listed below for analysis:
Ernst & Young (EY)
Deloitte & Touche.
KPMG.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
I assume George wants Trump’s tax returns made public as well.
Link to reports at the site.
“…The Clinton Foundation’s model has continued to be affirmed as effective by independent
philanthropic watchdogs. In the last few months, three charity evaluators have awarded the Clinton
Foundation top ratings – Charity Navigator renewed its ranking of four out of four stars; GuideStar
renewed the Foundation’s Platinum rating; and the Better Business Bureau accredited the Clinton
Foundation as meeting all 20 of the BBB’s standards for governance, effectiveness, finance, and
fundraising. In addition, the American Institute of Philanthropy’s “Charity Watch” has awarded the
Clinton Foundation an “A” rating for its financial performance….”
https://www.clintonfoundation.org/sites/default/files/clinton_foundation_report_public_2016.pdf
Sorry , meant to post this as a response to George
I am certain that tax returns are where they are supposed to be when they are being audited by the IRS as President Donald J. Trump’s are.
Your hackneyed caterwauling notwithstanding, please do one simple thing. Turn all the books of The Clinton Foundation, since its inception, over to the firms listed below for analysis:
Ernst & Young (EY)
Deloitte & Touche.
KPMG.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
If he is concerned with fraud, George has the Clinton tax returns and the above independent resources on the Clinton Foundation.
“Not good enough” he says, the crusader for openness and financial purity.
Trump’s tax returns? No, that’s a silly plot he says.
How do people like George have the balls to post. Has the low standard Trump has set for telling bald face lies to everyone’s face infected guys like him to do the same?
Your hackneyed caterwauling notwithstanding, please do one simple thing. Turn all the books of The Clinton Foundation, since its inception, over to the firms listed below for analysis:
Ernst & Young (EY)
Deloitte & Touche.
KPMG.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)