Donald Trump might have dissociated himself from his business after becoming the President of the United States, but the Trump Organisation's business is carrying on in full steam under the guidance of his sons. Donald Trump Jr. and his brother Eric announced the launch of a new chain of hotels named 'American Idea' on Monday. The name is inspired from their experiences on the campaign trail with their father.
Mid Market hotel chain
The Trump Organisation is usually associated with luxury, but this new chain of hotels are meant as a mid market offering.
Initially, the hotel chain will start off with three hotels. All three hotels are going to be located in Mississippi. The announcement was made by the President's sons at an event held at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York. Donald Trump Jr. made the announcement and stated that the name 'American Idea' came to them after experiencing large parts of the country during Donald Trump's Presidential campaign.
Speaking of his and his brother Eric Trump's experiences, he said, “We saw so many places and towns and so many stories,”. American Idea is not the only hotel chain that the Trump Organisation is launching. Another hotel chain named 'Scion' has also been launched and is being constructed in Mississippi.
Potential conflicts of interest
However, there are fears that these deals could lead to conflict of interest issue for President Donald Trump. The President might not be in charge of Trump Organisation anymore but at the same time, it can be said that people who might want to be in the good book of the Trump administration might want to invest in these ventures.
In addition to that, assorted lobbyists, business men, developers and hotel chain owners can invest vast amounts of money without any checks and balances into the business.
This is something that can definitely snowball into a conflict of interest issue at a later date. Kathleen Clark, who is a professor of law at Washington University said that the Trump Organisation is trying to cash in one their political capital in the so called 'red states'.
She said, “They’re cashing in on the red states. I’m not surprised that the Trump family would look to opportunities to commercially exploit his political success.” Moreover, some experts have also raised concerns that these investments might not even need any disclosure when the next election comes along and could be used as campaign contributions.
