an offer he can't refuse
Trump suggested Pence stay at his Irish golf resort but didn't 'command' him to, chief of staff clarifies
Why is Vice President Mike Pence spending the two nights of his Ireland visit at President Trump's luxury golf resort in Doonbeg when his official business is in Dublin, 180 miles and a plane ride away? It was Trump's idea, Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, told reporters on Tuesday. "I don't think it was a request, like a command, Bob," Short told The Washington Post's Robert Costa, according to Costa's pool report. "I think that it was a suggestion."
When a reporter asked what that means, Short continued: "It's like when we went through the trip, it's like, well, he's going to Doonbeg because that's where the Pence family is from. It's like, 'Well, you should stay at my place.'" The Pence family isn't very directly "from" Doonbeg — his Irish-American grandmother had familial ties there — but Short also explained that since Trump stayed at the resort just a few months ago, the Secret Service is familiar with "the realities" and "the logistics around that facility." Still, Trump did suggest staying at his resort, right? "It wasn't like a, 'You must.' It wasn't like, 'You have to,'" Short said.
Some of Pence's staffers — and the press — are staying at the Radisson Blu hotel in Limerick, which is closer to the airport, Politico notes. But U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill for Pence's higher-end accommodations, Short said.
As the song says, nice work if you can get it.