Blaming the political climate, Trump Organization shelves plan for 2 new hotel chains

The Trump Organization announced Thursday it won't be rolling out its new budget and mid-priced hotel brands, Scion and American Idea, after all, The Associated Press reports.

President Trump's sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are now running the company, and in a statement, Eric Trump blamed the failure to launch on "fake news" and "Democrats who are only interested in presidential harassment and wasting everyone's time, barraging us with nonsense letters. We already have the greatest properties in the world and if we have to slow down our growth for the time being, we are happy to do it."

In March 2017, the Trump Organization said more than 20 developers signed letters of intent to open Scion hotels. Ultimately, only one deal was made, with Chawla Hotels, to open as many as four properties in Mississippi, AP reports; that deal is off. The company said it could do something with the brands down the road, possibly when Trump is out of office.

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