The Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles. (Photo: Yuki Shimazu/flickr/cc)
Golfing With Trump: Analysis Reveals Powerful Elite Can Literally Play for Access
"No theory of ethical governance could justify this."
A new USA TODAY investigation reveals that top executives, lobbyists, and contractors are buying access to President Donald Trump through memberships at the president's numerous golf clubs, adding further concerns about the administration's ethical conflicts.
Reacting to the story, one observer wrote on Twitter: "In the developing world, this is called corruption."
Membership lists of Trump's golf clubs are not publicly available, so USA TODAY tracked the names down through social media posts, news stories, and records on the U.S. Golf Association website, which show players' handicaps and scores.
With those records, the news outlet found 4,500 names. Prioritizing the clubs where Trump has spent the most time since taking office--in New Jersey, Virginia, and Florida--the reporting found "at least 50 executives whose companies hold federal contracts and 21 lobbyists and trade group officials. Two-thirds played on one of the 58 days the president was there," the reporting found. It further shows
that, for the first time in U.S. history, wealthy people with interests before the government have a chance for close and confidential access to the president as a result of payments that enrich him personally. It is a view of the president available to few other Americans.
Listed among the ranks of the membership
are top executives of defense contractors, a lobbyist for the South Korean government, a lawyer helping Saudi Arabia fight claims over the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the leader of a pesticide trade group that sought successfully to persuade the Trump administration not to ban an insecticide government scientists linked to health risks.
"No theory of ethical governance could justify this," tweeted Walter Shaub, who resigned as Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Director in July following ethics battles with the Trump White House.
Shaub was also quoted in the USA TODAY article, saying, "Face time is everything when it comes to Washington," adding, "The president bopping around his properties gives them access to him."
(It should also be noted that members' club initiation fees, which can be upwards of $100,000, personally profit Trump, as McClatchy reported in July. )
USA TODAY also notes an exchange that took place in February between Trump and an airline industry lobbyist who appeared to tout his membership at one of the president's golf clubs..
As Quartz reported at the time, Kevin M. Burke, president and CEO of Airports Council International-North America, said to Trump at a White House gathering, "I'm a member of your club, by the way." Trump responded by saying, "Very good, very good."
"It's not a quid pro quo, but it's one step away from a suggestion of an exchange," said Norman Eisen, a former Obama administration ethics official, to Quartz. "It's part of a larger pattern, that is part of a bigger picture."
The new investigation follows the launch of a new Public Citizen report, "President Trump Inc.," which spotlights his "for-profit presidency" with an interactive map that documents the tangled web of his vast business interests.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
A new USA TODAY investigation reveals that top executives, lobbyists, and contractors are buying access to President Donald Trump through memberships at the president's numerous golf clubs, adding further concerns about the administration's ethical conflicts.
Reacting to the story, one observer wrote on Twitter: "In the developing world, this is called corruption."
Membership lists of Trump's golf clubs are not publicly available, so USA TODAY tracked the names down through social media posts, news stories, and records on the U.S. Golf Association website, which show players' handicaps and scores.
With those records, the news outlet found 4,500 names. Prioritizing the clubs where Trump has spent the most time since taking office--in New Jersey, Virginia, and Florida--the reporting found "at least 50 executives whose companies hold federal contracts and 21 lobbyists and trade group officials. Two-thirds played on one of the 58 days the president was there," the reporting found. It further shows
that, for the first time in U.S. history, wealthy people with interests before the government have a chance for close and confidential access to the president as a result of payments that enrich him personally. It is a view of the president available to few other Americans.
Listed among the ranks of the membership
are top executives of defense contractors, a lobbyist for the South Korean government, a lawyer helping Saudi Arabia fight claims over the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the leader of a pesticide trade group that sought successfully to persuade the Trump administration not to ban an insecticide government scientists linked to health risks.
"No theory of ethical governance could justify this," tweeted Walter Shaub, who resigned as Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Director in July following ethics battles with the Trump White House.
Shaub was also quoted in the USA TODAY article, saying, "Face time is everything when it comes to Washington," adding, "The president bopping around his properties gives them access to him."
(It should also be noted that members' club initiation fees, which can be upwards of $100,000, personally profit Trump, as McClatchy reported in July. )
USA TODAY also notes an exchange that took place in February between Trump and an airline industry lobbyist who appeared to tout his membership at one of the president's golf clubs..
As Quartz reported at the time, Kevin M. Burke, president and CEO of Airports Council International-North America, said to Trump at a White House gathering, "I'm a member of your club, by the way." Trump responded by saying, "Very good, very good."
"It's not a quid pro quo, but it's one step away from a suggestion of an exchange," said Norman Eisen, a former Obama administration ethics official, to Quartz. "It's part of a larger pattern, that is part of a bigger picture."
The new investigation follows the launch of a new Public Citizen report, "President Trump Inc.," which spotlights his "for-profit presidency" with an interactive map that documents the tangled web of his vast business interests.
A new USA TODAY investigation reveals that top executives, lobbyists, and contractors are buying access to President Donald Trump through memberships at the president's numerous golf clubs, adding further concerns about the administration's ethical conflicts.
Reacting to the story, one observer wrote on Twitter: "In the developing world, this is called corruption."
Membership lists of Trump's golf clubs are not publicly available, so USA TODAY tracked the names down through social media posts, news stories, and records on the U.S. Golf Association website, which show players' handicaps and scores.
With those records, the news outlet found 4,500 names. Prioritizing the clubs where Trump has spent the most time since taking office--in New Jersey, Virginia, and Florida--the reporting found "at least 50 executives whose companies hold federal contracts and 21 lobbyists and trade group officials. Two-thirds played on one of the 58 days the president was there," the reporting found. It further shows
that, for the first time in U.S. history, wealthy people with interests before the government have a chance for close and confidential access to the president as a result of payments that enrich him personally. It is a view of the president available to few other Americans.
Listed among the ranks of the membership
are top executives of defense contractors, a lobbyist for the South Korean government, a lawyer helping Saudi Arabia fight claims over the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the leader of a pesticide trade group that sought successfully to persuade the Trump administration not to ban an insecticide government scientists linked to health risks.
"No theory of ethical governance could justify this," tweeted Walter Shaub, who resigned as Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Director in July following ethics battles with the Trump White House.
Shaub was also quoted in the USA TODAY article, saying, "Face time is everything when it comes to Washington," adding, "The president bopping around his properties gives them access to him."
(It should also be noted that members' club initiation fees, which can be upwards of $100,000, personally profit Trump, as McClatchy reported in July. )
USA TODAY also notes an exchange that took place in February between Trump and an airline industry lobbyist who appeared to tout his membership at one of the president's golf clubs..
As Quartz reported at the time, Kevin M. Burke, president and CEO of Airports Council International-North America, said to Trump at a White House gathering, "I'm a member of your club, by the way." Trump responded by saying, "Very good, very good."
"It's not a quid pro quo, but it's one step away from a suggestion of an exchange," said Norman Eisen, a former Obama administration ethics official, to Quartz. "It's part of a larger pattern, that is part of a bigger picture."
The new investigation follows the launch of a new Public Citizen report, "President Trump Inc.," which spotlights his "for-profit presidency" with an interactive map that documents the tangled web of his vast business interests.