Mar-a-Lago diplomacy: Trump to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at his private golf club

The president is bringing yet another foreign leader to his country club for rich people

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Topics: Donald Trump, Mar-a-Lago, xi jinping, ,

Mar-a-Lago diplomacy: Trump to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at his private golf clubDonald Trump; Mar-A-Lago(Credit: Getty/Gary Gershoff/Shutterstock)

President Donald Trump may be adding a new conflict of interest to the ones he has already accumulated regarding the nation of China — namely, his reported decision to host a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Trump is planning a key meeting between himself and the Chinese leader at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Axios is reporting, with “tentative dates” set for April 6-7. The summit is intended to diffuse tensions between the two countries on a number of geopolitical and economic issues.

Reuters could not verify Axios’ reporting.

In February, President Barack Obama’s chief ethics czar Norm Eisen told The Washington Post that “we’ve had a lot of presidents who hosted foreign leaders away from the White House, but we’ve never in history had one do it in a place where he’s selling memberships for hundreds of thousands of dollars a pop. Trump just could not resist the opportunity to make an infomercial for his property. He’s worked hard all his life to generate free media. Now he’s hit the mother lode, and he’s not going to stop.”

Trump has previously used his Mar-a-Lago resort for important foreign meetings. Last month, guests mingled with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and watched both leaders act during an international crisis involving North Korea.

The Mar-a-Lago resort has also been criticized by former Secret Service and intelligence officials for being vulnerable to espionage. According to a Politico report, many guests can enter the property without a background check and that the president’s frequent visits make his presence there a prime opportunity for eavesdroppers and spies trying to develop information about his personal habits.

Matthew Rozsa
Matthew Rozsa is a breaking news writer for Salon. He holds an MA in History from Rutgers University-Newark and his work has appeared in Mic, Quartz and MSNBC.

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