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U.S. Democrats slam Pence for staying at Trump hotel in Ireland

By Alexandra Alper

 

U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife Karen meet with President of Ireland Michael D.Higgins and his wife Sabina Higgins at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin, Ireland September 3, 2019. REUTERS/Lorraine O'Sullivan

 

SHANNON, Ireland (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence drew fire from Democrats on Tuesday when he met with Irish leaders in the capital Dublin but stayed at a hotel owned by President Donald Trump almost 300 km (180 miles) away at his boss's urging.

 

Pence held his meetings in Dublin on Ireland's east coast on Tuesday after spending the night at the Trump International Golf Club in Doonbeg on the west coast and returning there afterward for a second night. The hotel also hosted the Trumpfamily during a brief trip to Ireland by the president in June.

Asked if Trump had suggested that Pence stay at the property, the vice president's chief of staff, Marc Short, told journalists, "I think that it was a suggestion."

 

"It's like when we went through the trip it's like, `Well, he's going to Doonbeg because that is where his family is from, it’s like `oh, you should stay at my place'," Short said. "It wasn’t like a `you must.' It wasn't like a `you have to.'"

 

California Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu accused Pence on Twitter of "funnelling taxpayer money" to Trump by staying at the hotel. "You took an oath to the Constitution, not to @realDonaldTrump," Lieu said.

 

The Democratic National Committee also chimed in, saying on its DNC War Room Twitter feed that Pence's choice of hotel meant "your tax dollars: making the Trump family richer."

 

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence drew fire from Democrats on Tuesday when he met with Irish leaders in the capital, Dublin, but stayed at a hotel owned by President Donald Trump almost 180 miles (300 kilometers) away, at Trump's urging. Jonah Green has more.

 

Pence defended the decision, pointing to family ties and saying the hotel stay was vetted in advance.

 

"I understand political attacks by Democrats, but if you have the chance to get to Doonbeg you'll find that it is a fairly small place," he told reporters.

The village has a population of just 200 people and would have had trouble accommodating the team if it hadn't been for the Trump hotel, Pence said.

Pence added that the state department approved the choice.

 

"I was pleased to have the opportunity to return to that family hometown and be able to stay there ... It was important to me, before our original trip plan, to at least spend one night in Doonbeg."

 

Dozens of locals, some waving American flags, greeted the vice president and his wife, sister and mother as they made their way through the one-street town after returning from Dublin.

 

"My great-grandmother lived in that house," Pence told several people, pointing to a grey building across the street from Morrissey's pub, owned by a distant cousin.

 

The Pences then ducked inside to dine at the pub, where a 22-year-old Mike Pence worked briefly in 1981, pouring Guinness for customers on his first trip to Ireland following the death of his Irish grandfather.

 

IRISH ROOTS

Pence's stay was paid for by U.S. taxpayers, Short said, but the vice president personally paid for his sister and mother who came with him. Pence's great-grandmother was from Doonbeg.

 

Trump has retained ownership of his hotels, golf courses and other businesses, but he gave control of the businesses to his sons shortly before he took office in January 2017.

 

Former government ethics officials and watchdog groups say Trump has failed to put safeguards in place to ensure that he does not directly profit from his actions as president.

 

Short said the original plan had been for Pence to hold meetings in Dublin and to head to Doonbeg afterwards. A last-minute schedule change meant Pence would need to visit Dublin after staying overnight in Ireland, and Trump's property had already been vetted.

 

Trump on Thursday cancelled a visit to Poland https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-storm-dorian/hurricane-intensifies-trump-says-florida-faces-absolute-monster-idUKKCN1VJ0P1 in order to monitor Hurricane Dorian, and sent Pence in his stead. He was later criticized for playing golf during that time.

 

In Dublin, Pence met with Irish President Michael D. Higgins and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, urging Ireland and the European Union to negotiate "in good faith" with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and reach a Brexit deal that respects UK sovereignty.

 

(Additional reporting by Conor Humphries in Dublin; Editing by Larry King, Bernadette Baum and Andrew Cawthorne)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-04

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[daoyai]

Maybe he got a free upgrade room?   Slimy Ted Lieu had to politicize this trip. Nice to see the locals turn out to greet the V.P.  This type of trip strengthens the bonds between natural allies.

[Puchaiyank]

Makes me laugh the type of BS the left cries foul about...lame and ineffective...????

[Berkshire]

44 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

Makes me laugh the type of BS the left cries foul about...lame and ineffective...????

Trump profiting off of our tax dollars doesn't bother you even a little bit?  It might make sense if this was somehow more convenient for the VP but it wasn't.  This is the very definition of corruption and you guys just let it slide.

 

[While he’s on the Emerald Isle, Pence will participate in a set of meetings in Dublin, on the east coast. To attend those meetings, Pence will fly more than an hour each way.]

[Trump has so frequently used the power of the presidency to plump for his businesses that the public has almost become inured to it, but it remains brazenly corrupt and shameless.]

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/trump-invites-pence-to-stay-at-his-place—then-hands-taxpayers-the-bill/ar-AAGKPxE?ocid=wispr

 

[Tug]

Ya gotta hand it to pence 180 mile commute just to suck up to Donald and it’s also a violation of the emoluments clause 

[Silurian]

1 hour ago, Puchaiyank said:

Makes me laugh the type of BS the left cries foul about...lame and ineffective...????

 

Once again, Donald loyalists turning a blind eye to the corruption in the DC swampland. Typical.

 

There was absolutely no reason Pence could not stay in Dublin as have many past Presidents, Vice-Presidents, First ladies and multiple celebrities have done. This is just yet another blatant way to put money in Donald's pockets at the expense of the American taxpayer.

 

The Trump family is just laughing all the way to the bank on various taxpayer funded schemes. And yet Donald loyalists continue to back him. There are no so blind as those who will not see.

 

[daoyai]

1 hour ago, Tug said:

Ya gotta hand it to pence 180 mile commute just to suck up to Donald and it’s also a violation of the emoluments clause 

He was visiting his ancestral home where he also worked as a lad.  Either way he was going there,  so where he actually sleeps does not matter unless you have ...T.D.S....  

[mtls2005]

That the VP's press office had to come up with two or three changing "reasons" for the lodgings just goes to show they knew it was wrong, attempted to hide it, then tried to justify with a few different "reasons".

 

At this point we should just give up expecting anyone in this administration to adhere to norms.

 

Heck trump tweeted 122 times, mostly personal grudges, while playing golf, after having sloughed off Poland to pence. At least trump shared his vast hurricane knowledge so there's that.

[Boon Mee]

4 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

Makes me laugh the type of BS the left cries foul about...lame and ineffective...????

Indeed 

The Trump haters use any lame sorry excuse to slam the Trump administration. 

Shameful in the extreme... 

[candide]

From Trump's perspective, I guess the free advertising generated by this staying is more important than the direct revenues.

[mtls2005]

22 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

The Trump haters use any lame sorry excuse to slam the Trump administration. 

 

Sherman, turn the way-back machine to 2008....

 

Replace trump with Obama in this sentence, and...

 

#tansuit

 

 

[Opl]

58 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Indeed 

The Trump haters use any lame sorry excuse to slam the Trump administration. 

Shameful in the extreme... 

"I just want to stay in the White House and work my ass off. "Candidate Donald Trump in 2016

Edited September 4, 2019 by Opl

[DoctorG]

No mention by our TDS friends that Trump donates his entire $400k salary every year.

[Emdog]

"You took an oath to the Constitution, not to @realDonaldTrump," Lieu said.

I guess Lieu wasn't invited to the private oath giving ceremony when Pence was picked to run with Trump.

I love Pence looking like deer in headlights when asked by reporter about this debacle. After a pause Pence says "It's good to be in Ireland"

[Opl]

19 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

No mention by our TDS friends that Trump donates his entire $400k salary every year.

"The $102 million total to date spent on Trump’s presidential golfing represents 255 times the annual presidential salary he volunteered not to take"

Just as troubling as the amount Trump has spent so far on golf trips is the fact that his visits have been to his own properties — for-profit businesses that put money in his own pocket and that Trump routinely praises during his visits.

[Jonnapat]

Pathetic, what a weasel. 

[IAMHERE]

As usual, the left complained but didn't offer an alternative. Where did they want him to stay? In a pup tent probably.

[RJRS1301]

8 hours ago, daoyai said:

Maybe he got a free upgrade room?   Slimy Ted Lieu had to politicize this trip. Nice to see the locals turn out to greet the V.P.  This type of trip strengthens the bonds between natural allies.

I think there is a tradition that the President does not use his position to profit from his role, why did he not stay in a hotel in Dublin where he had the meetings.

Seems at the very least questionable, and worst a breach of ethics.

Opps ethics and trump>> sorry 

[RJRS1301]

23 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

As usual, the left complained but didn't offer an alternative. Where did they want him to stay? In a pup tent probably.

Perhaps in a hotel a little closer than one that was 300klms away from where the meeting was being held??

 

[metisdead]

Some troll posts have been removed. 

[Thingamabob]

Yawn......

[kevin612]

It is Just a small issue.

[Silurian]

4 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

As usual, the left complained but didn't offer an alternative. Where did they want him to stay? In a pup tent probably.

 

Try the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. It was good enough for President Bill Clinton. Michelle Obama stayed there when she was First Lady. Various famous actors and actresses also stayed there as well.

 

As Dublin is the capital and largest city in Ireland, there are other hotel options as well. Doesn't take a brain trust to figure that one out.

 

When you are trying to fill Donald's pocket with taxpayer money, it looks like none of that matters.

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by Silurian

[Grusa]

10 hours ago, Tug said:

Ya gotta hand it to pence 180 mile commute just to suck up to Donald and it’s also a violation of the emoluments clause 

Actually, he found it on booking.com, and he had a 500thb voucher from a pal. The Hiltaton was way more expensive and the breakfast sucks.

[mtls2005]

Pence has changed his "story" for, I think the third time, though I've lost count. Decoding trump's "suggestions" are vaguey reminiscent of Don Corleone.

 

Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff, also spoke to reporters on Tuesday, saying Trump suggested that Pence should stay at his hotel during his trip.

 

“I don’t think it was a request, like a command… I think that it was a suggestion,” Short said. “It’s like, ‘Well, you should stay at my place.’ It wasn’t like a ‘you must.’ It wasn’t like ‘you have to.’ It’s a facility that could accommodate the team. Keep in mind, the Secret Service has protected that facility for him, too, so they sort of know the realities, they know the logistics around that facility.”

 

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/mike-pences-team-changes-story-on-whether-trump-directed-veep-to-stay-at-his-ireland-hotel/

 

 

I love how trump says that being president is costing him $3 ~ $5 Billion (in total, per year?).

 

I assume that's the payment Melannia negotiated when she re-did her pre-nup?

 

 

 

 

[Cryingdick]

On 9/3/2019 at 10:38 PM, Berkshire said:

Trump profiting off of our tax dollars doesn't bother you even a little bit?  It might make sense if this was somehow more convenient for the VP but it wasn't.  This is the very definition of corruption and you guys just let it slide.

 

[While he’s on the Emerald Isle, Pence will participate in a set of meetings in Dublin, on the east coast. To attend those meetings, Pence will fly more than an hour each way.]

[Trump has so frequently used the power of the presidency to plump for his businesses that the public has almost become inured to it, but it remains brazenly corrupt and shameless.]

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/trump-invites-pence-to-stay-at-his-place—then-hands-taxpayers-the-bill/ar-AAGKPxE?ocid=wispr

 

 

The price of setting up security probably off set any cost. Nice to see the same delusional nonsense and outrage. I myself am shaking in rage over this.

[mtls2005]

27 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

The price of setting up security probably off set any cost.

 

So far they haven't used this "excuse".

 

But thanks for playing along at home.

[Cryingdick]

28 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

So far they haven't used this "excuse".

 

But thanks for playing along at home.

 

The secret service would have advance access to how the place it set up and more intimate knowledge of the property. Thanks for stealing my line I have been using  "thank you for playing" long before you. Imitation is the better part of flattery I suppose.

Edited September 6, 2019 by Cryingdick

[Saint Nick]

On 9/4/2019 at 1:57 PM, Emdog said:

"You took an oath to the Constitution, not to @realDonaldTrump," Lieu said.

I guess Lieu wasn't invited to the private oath giving ceremony when Pence was picked to run with Trump.

I love Pence looking like deer in headlights when asked by reporter about this debacle. After a pause Pence says "It's good to be in Ireland"

...and I would have loved the reporter to say:" With all due respect, sir: how about answering my question? A question, to which the answer might interest the US- taxpayer!"

(Not the Trump- fans of course, because they don't care, how many millions their bronze- idol steals from them!)

[Saint Nick]

On 9/4/2019 at 1:53 PM, DoctorG said:

No mention by our TDS friends that Trump donates his entire $400k salary every year.

Probably to his own charity!

And we know, how well that goes, don't we?!