A twelve-story tower, not far from the White House: Donald Trump is about to leave his Washington hotel, where once a swarm of lobbyists, donors and foreign governments, to spend a lot hoping to make little money Were prepared. with the President.
The Trump International Hotel, located in a 19th-century Neo-Roman style building, is closing its doors.
Built in the 1890s, the 12-story building, a former post office, serves as the home of the U.S. It is the third tallest building in the capital.
Condemned several times for demolition, the building was narrowly saved in 2011 when Donald Trump promised to invest $200 million in its renovation.
The hotel opened in the fall of 2016, a few months before Donald Trump entered the White House.
A giant skylight illuminates the bar where you drink $140 glasses of wine served in Hungarian crystal before a night out in the Franklin Suite, $12,000, breakfast included.
,It’s a place they’re so proud of“Donald Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said at his first White House press conference in January 2017.I think he is representative of the type of administration he will lead,
conflict of interest
After assuming the presidency, Donald Trump handed over control of his real estate empire to his two eldest sons, promising not to interfere with the activity of their estates.
In fact, he promoted it at every opportunity and the Trump International Hotel has maintained its influence.
According to the anti-corruption NGO Crew, during his presidency, 150 officials from 77 foreign countries visited the properties of the Republican billionaire.
I Read also: Donald Trump’s social network “Truth Social” has got a web host
American political groups have spent a total of $3 million to organize about 40 events at the hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue.
And according to NGOs, influential groups such as the American Petroleum Institute have repeatedly held events at the hotel after meetings at the White House. And many have achieved beneficial political results.
elected on the promise ofclean the backwater“From Washington”Donald Trump should never have allowed his hotel to be kept“, denounces Noah Bookbinder, chairman of the crew.
When asked about mixing his presidential prerogatives with the promotion of his vast real estate empire, Donald Trump defended himself in 2016: “The law is completely in my favor, presidents can’t have a conflict of interest,
the profit “grossly exaggerated”
However, the existence of the Trump International Hotel was short-lived.
A parliamentary inquiry found that the hotel suffered more than $70 million in damages under the Trump presidency, estimating that “highly exaggerated“Its profit.
The Trump Organization called the report “intentionally misleading, irresponsible and clearly false“and called it”political persecution,
The group did not comply with AFP’s requests.
But many US media have reported very low occupancy rates, especially because of the pandemic.
The Trump Organization then leased the building for the declared amount of $375 million to an investment fund that plans to reopen the hotel in the first months of 2022 under the name Waldorf Astoria.
This did not please the critics.
,Sell him now, when he’s no longer in power, that the shenanigans have subsided“The chairman of the crew explains,”too little, too late,