President Invited Bedminster Members To “Come Along” During Cabinet Interviews
Back in November, President Donald Trump encouraged members of his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to “come along” during scheduled interviews with potential cabinet picks.Â
“We’re doing a lot of interviews tomorrow — generals, dictators, we have everything,†Trump told the crowd, according to an audio tape obtained by POLITICO. “You may wanna come around. It’ll be fun. We’re really working tomorrow. We have meetings every 15, 20 minutes with different people that will form our government.
“We’re going to be interviewing everybody — Treasury, we’re going to be interviewing Secretary of State,†he continued. “We have everybody coming in — if you want to come around, it’s going to be unbelievable….so you might want to come along.â€
Last weekend, Trump drew criticism for discussing the administration’s response to a North Korean missile test on the patio at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. But in addition to security concerns, The New York Times reported Saturday that the president’s trips to Mar-a-Lago — which he’s visiting again this weekend — are likely to result in major potential conflicts of interest.Â
“Membership lists reviewed by The New York Times show that the club’s nearly 500 paying members include dozens of real estate developers, Wall Street financiers, energy executives and others whose businesses could be affected by Mr. Trump’s policies,” the NYT reported. “At least three club members are under consideration for an ambassadorship.”Â
Naturally, the Trump administration denies that the president is effectively selling access to his administration for profit.Â
Trumps’ son Eric told the NYT that only 20 to 40 new members are admitted to Mar-a-Lago per year, and that wealthy members have other ways to communicate with the federal government.
“It assumes the worst of us and everyone, and that is unfair,†Eric Trump said of concerns about ethical breaches.Â
Mar-a-Lago memberships go for $200,000 plus annual fees.Â