When President Donald Trump arrives in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday for his first visit abroad since his retirement La Maison Blanche, he will address a region rich in opportunities. On Diplomatic frontIt should focus on trade agreements and economic ties.
But for Trump and his family, there are also opportunities in the form of commercial enterprises and real estate offers.
Some ethics experts say that the way his family business addressed these opportunities raised familiar concerns Conflicts of potential interests as a Trump meets the managers of the region, who could influence the success of Trump’s companies.
During Trump’s first term, his family said they would not continue Any new business abroad. But now, in Trump’s second term, the Trump organization has several active projects in the Gulf region – including some that were launched in the months following Trump’s return – suggesting that his self -imposed moratorium has dissipated.
Trump’s visit to the United Arab Emirates, for example, occurs a little more than a week after the Trump organization announcement The development of an 80 -storey residential building and a club called Trump International Hotel & Tower, Dubai.
During a project launching party last week, a Dar Global executive, the development company is associated with the Trump organization, in a social media clip That the project “is perfectly positioned to capture the growth of Dubai, offering investors the rare chances of being part of a worldwide success – fueled by the name of Trump and the expertise of Dar Global”.
And last week, the cryptocurrency company of the Trump family, World Liberty Financial, announced that an investment company based in Abu Dhabi would make a major investment of $ 2 billion in the company.
In this December 20, 2016, a photo file, an employee engets the grass in front of the clubhouse at the Trump International Golf Club, in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
Kamran Jebrei / AP, file
USD1, the so -called “Stablecoin” of World Liberty Financial – A digital asset designed to maintain a stable value – should be used to complete the investment transaction of $ 2 billion from the Emirati investment company in the Crypto exchange binance, ABC News reported.
In Qatar, Trump will arrive only two weeks after his son Eric Trump wrapped an agreement To develop a golf club of $ 5.5 billion just north of Doha, called the Trump International Golf Club, Simaisima, which will include “an 18-hole golf course, an exclusive clubhouse and Trump brand villas”, according to plans.
And in Saudi Arabia, three Trump organization projects are currently underway, including two residential projects and a golf course. The development firm with which they had joined forces for many of these regional projects, Dar Global, would have close links with the Saudi government.
Trump also recently organized a high -level golf tournament for the Golf Liv tour supported by Saoudie in his national Trump Doral Resort near Miami.
Before Trump was sworn in for his second term, Eric Trump announcement That the Trump organization had hired an external ethical advisor to help the company adopt a “series of complete ethical measures” which “would proactively approach potential conflicts”.
“Although neither the federal law nor the constitution of the United States invites presidents to continue to own, exploit and manage their businesses and their investments during their mandate, the Trump organization has taken these additional measures in the context of its continuous commitment to ensure transparency, to respect the highest legal standards and to avoid the appearance of ethical concerns,” said the announcement.
Many ethics experts have considerably criticized the arrangement as insufficient. Danielle Brian, executive director of the surveillance project of the government who is not a supporter of government surveillance, told ABC News that the trade efforts of the Trump organization, including those abroad, are entirely legal – but that Trump “takes the weakness of our current ethics laws … at a whole new level in this administration”.
“We have never seen the kind of money at stake and the type of cheeky to take advantage of political power for a personal financial gain that we have seen in this administration,” said Brian.
Before Trump’s visit to the Gulf, Watchdog Citizens for Washington’s responsibility and ethics wrote that “Trump knows that the decisions he takes as president could affect his results, and foreign officials from these countries could provide special treatment to the President of the United States – or an exact sanction for the decisions they don’t like.”
Trump has not yet disclosed his financial disclosure as president, he is therefore not clear what arrangements he took to ensure a firewall between his personal companies and his presidency. But Trump and the White House have denied several times and forcefully that his private commercial interests constitute a conflict of interest.
On Friday, Trump would run personal business meetings during his visit to the Middle East, the press secretary of the White House, Karoline Leavitt, said that he was “frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room even suggests that President Trump does anything for his own advantage”.