Donald Trump’s G7 Doral stunt is not at all what it looks like
Even as U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland is testifying to the House impeachment inquiry that Donald Trump abused his office by running a criminal scheme in Ukraine, Trump’s remaining allies are left trying to figure out what to do. There are no good options for Team Trump at this point, so they’re trying something that’s decidedly not a good idea.
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney just publicly announced that the next G7 summit will be held at Donald Trump’s Doral property in Florida next summer. Some observers will categorize this as a power play, but it’s really not one. In fact it’s something of the opposite. It’s the kind of superficial move you make after you’ve concluded you’re going to lose anyway.
The G7 Doral thing is going to immediately become yet another scandal for Donald Trump. It’ll serve to underscore and amplify the arguments being made that he’s criminally abusing the office for personal financial gain. It makes him look really bad. It hurts him. So why are Trump’s handlers doing this right now?
They know this G7 move will only make things worse for Donald Trump. They know they’re accelerating his downfall. But they also know they can’t stop his downfall. A move like this is pretty clearly designed to try to cheer up an increasingly sullen and broken Trump. His handlers are trying to keep his head in the game by feeding him the fantasy that he’ll still be in office by next summer, at a time when his ouster is becoming more likely by the day.
