Trump helped craft a deal to send U.S. Air Force crews to his Scottish resort, but before he was elected

(Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

published 10 September 2019

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.

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While it may be true Trump plays no active role in steering Air Force crews to stay at Turnberry — the Air Force has a separate arrangement with the struggling Prestwick dating back to 2015 — it isn't technically true he has "nothing to do with" the airport, The New York Times reports. "Documents obtained from Scottish government agencies show that the Trump Organization, and Mr. Trump himself, played a direct role in setting up an arrangement between the Turnberry resort and officials at Glasgow Prestwick Airport." The Times adds:

[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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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.