Senate Democrat on G-7: ‘A global summit should not be used to generate profits for the President’

After it was announced the Group of 7 (G-7) summit would be held at President Trump‘s resort near Miami, top Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrat Bob Menendez (N.J.) urged the White House to reconsider. 

“A global summit should not be used to generate profits for the President or his family, or as a branding exercise,” Menendez wrote in a letter to Trump on Thursday. 

He also pointed to other recent controversial foreign policy moves by the president such as his withdrawal of troops from northern Syria and his request of Ukraine to investigate Democratic candidate former Vice President Joe Biden. {mosads}

“At a time when the U.S. role as a global leader is hanging by a thread—marred by your actions with regard to Ukraine, Syria and weaponizing U.S. foreign assistance as a tool for your own political gain, what we need now is to restore confidence in global leadership, not undermine it,” he wrote. 

“I urge to not proceed with holding the G7 at a property that would benefit you and your family personally, and would only further erode U.S. leadership and anti-corruption efforts around the world,” Menendez added. 

White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney announced Thursday that the Doral, Fla., resort would be the site of the meeting of global leaders. He said that Trump would not profit from the event. 

“I get the criticisms. So does [Trump] … but no, there’s no issue here on him profiting from this in any way, shape or form,” Mulvaney said. “If you think it’s going to help his brand, that’s great, but I would suggest that he doesn’t need much help promoting his brand.”

He also said it would be “dramatically cheaper” to host the event at the hotel because it agreed to hold the G-7 at cost.