White House story on Pence's taxpayer-funded stay at Trump resort changes again
The White House now claims that Mike Pence’s Trump-enriching travel accommodations in Ireland were all the vice president’s idea.
The decision to house Mike Pence at Trump’s Irish resort in Doonbeg, nearly 200 miles away from where he had meetings in Dublin, has attracted international scorn, ridicule, and scrutiny.
The White House has repeatedly shifted its explanation for why the odd travel accommodations were made.
Now, in a statement released Tuesday night, Pence’s team is blaming “misreporting” for the firestorm the story has created.
“The decision to stay at Trump National in Doonbeg, Ireland, was solely a decision by the Office of the Vice President,” the statement claimed, adding that the reservation was made based on the “requirement” that accommodations “near the Vice President’s ancestral hometown” could be made.
“At no time did the President direct our office to stay at his Doonbeg resort and any reporting to the contrary is false,” the statement concluded.
But that is a shift in the administration’s own message.
Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short told reporters on Wednesday that Trump had made a “suggestion” that Pence stay at his resort. According to Short, Trump told Pence, “Well, you should stay at my place.”
“Pence chief of staff told the media that Trump made a ‘suggestion’ that Pence stay at his club. Reporters reported this. Pence team’s new statement, claiming the decision was solely Pence’s (while conspicuously not retracting the ‘suggestion’ thing), complains of ‘misreporting,'” CNN reporter Daniel Dale noted.
Later in the day, when Pence himself was asked about the trip, he gave another reason.
“The opportunity to stay at Trump National in Doonbeg, to accommodate the unique footprint that comes with our security detail and other personnel made it logical,” Pence said.
Staying at the resort enriches Trump because he has refused to divest from his private holdings while in the presidency.
Pence’s travel arrangement follows in the footsteps of Trump himself, who has gone to great lengths to use the presidency to give his struggling holdings the kind of publicity few can buy.
The Trump administration keeps changing their story as scrutiny intensifies, and as is often the case, it wants to just blame the media for doing its job.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
Recommended
Biden calls for expanded child tax credit, taxes on wealthy in $7.2 trillion budget plan
President Joe Biden released his budget request for the upcoming fiscal year Monday, calling on Congress to stick to the spending agreement brokered last year and to revamp tax laws so that the “wealthy pay their fair share.”
By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom - March 11, 2024Biden rallies Democrats in Las Vegas: ‘Imagine the nightmare’ if Trump reelected
With a primary win all but inevitable, President Joe Biden used his Sunday appearance in Las Vegas’s Historic Westside to rally his most vocal supporters in a battleground state that delivered for him four years ago.
By April Corbin Girnus, Nevada Current - February 05, 2024UAW delivers rousing presidential endorsement for Biden over ‘scab’ Trump
The United Auto Workers of America endorsed the re-election of President Joe Biden Wednesday, just months after he became the first sitting U.S. president to walk a picket line with striking autoworkers in Michigan.
By Ashley Murray, States Newsroom - January 24, 2024