The emoluments clause has dogged President Trump since, quite literally, his first full weekday in office, and proved the undoing of his now-reversed decision to hold the 2020 G7 summit at his Doral resort in Miami. That hasn't left him a big fan of the Constitutional clause, which forbids the president from receiving any personal benefits from foreign governments without the consent of Congress. When asked about the canceled plans by reporters during a Monday Cabinet meeting that the Los Angeles Times described as "71 minutes of Trump grievances," he responded, "You people with this phony emoluments clause." More:
- CNBC reports he also suggested that Barack Obama—and George Washington—profited off business deals while in office. "Obama made a deal for a book. Is that running a business?" Trump said, sarcastically tacking on, "I'm sure he didn't even discuss it while he was president. Yeah." As for Obama's Netflix deal, "When did they start talking about that?" he added. And in terms of Washington: "They say had two desks. He had a presidential desk and a business desk."