Trump To Host G20 Summit at One of His Properties: ‘It’s the Best Location’

Alex Brandon/AP

President Donald Trump announced to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that the U.S. will host next year’s G20 summit at Trump National Doral golf course, calling his Miami property “the best location.”

“Everybody wants it at [Doral golf course] because it’s right next to the airport. It’s the best location,” Trump said as he signed a series of executive orders, including the name reversal of the Department of Defense back to the Department of War. “Beautiful everything.”

The president maintained that he would not personally profit from the summit.

Notably, in 2019, Trump announced that the Doral golf course would host the G-7 summit, but he reversed course after intense bipartisan backlash. Lawmakers and ethics experts criticized the decision at the time, arguing it violated the emoluments clause by allowing Trump to potentially profit from foreign governments.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez released a statement after Friday’s announcement emphasizing the city is “honored” by the decision, and that it “reinforces Miami’s role on the international stage.”

As for this year’s summit in South Africa, the president announced he would not be attending, but rather sending Vice President J.D. Vance in his place.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration accepted a small group of white South Africans as refugees under a relocation effort for Afrikaners. Additionally, Trump met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House in May and showed him a video of Black activists advocating for land seizures from white farmers, presenting it as evidence of the alleged “genocide.”