On Monday, President Trump tried to beat back suggestions he is intentionally enriching himself by directing U.S. Air Force personnel to stay at his struggling resort in Scotland during their increasingly frequent stopovers at Glasgow Prestwick Airport. "I know nothing about an Air Force plane landing at an airport (which I do not own and have nothing to do with) near Turnberry Resort," he tweeted, adding: "NOTHING TO DO WITH ME." He made similar claims to reporters Monday afternoon.
[T]he Trump organization, starting in 2014, entered a partnership with the airport to try to increase private and commercial air traffic to the region. As part of that arrangement, the Trump Organization worked to get Trump Turnberry added to a list of hotels that the airport would routinely send aircrews to, even though the Turnberry resort is 20 miles from the airport, farther away than many other hotels, and has higher advertised prices. [The New York Times]
The Air Force said it is still tallying how many of the 544 overnights at Prestwick since 2017 involved stays at Trump's resort, but Politico counts at least four since last September, including a busload of Air Force passengers sent to Turnberry in June. The Air Force said the seven crew members who stayed at Turnberry in March paid a rate of $136 a room, cheaper than a Marriott and under the per diem limit of $166. But former White House ethics chief Walter Shaub calculated that the average hotel rate in nearby Glasgow is $89 a night, and rooms are plentiful.
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The Air Force said a contractor in Scotland helps choose rooms for visiting aircrews. Prestwick said Monday that Trump's resort "accounts for a small percentage of the total hotel bookings we make."
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