Trump ditches plans for new hotels – New York Times

The company overseeing President Donald Trump’s business dealings has dropped plans to develop two new lines of hotels, citing a “hostile political climate”, the New York Times reports.

In 2016 and 2017 the Trump Organization announced plans for the two new brands, called Scion and American Idea, which were to be more affordable than the usual flashy Trump hotel properties.

But they never really got off the ground and only one partner, in Mississippi, had signed a deal.

Now, the Trump Organization has shelved plans for these hotels, probably for the rest of the Trump presidency, the Times said.

The company is under investigation by federal prosecutors and Congress. And a former employee, Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, is bound for prison.

“We live in a climate where everything will be used against us, whether by the fake news or by Democrats who are only interested in presidential harassment and wasting everyone’s time, barraging us with nonsense letters,” Trump’s son Eric said in a statement, according to the Times.

“We already have the greatest properties in the world and if we have to slow down our growth for the time being, we are happy to do it.”

The Trump Organization is family owned and thus not obliged to release information on its earnings or dealings.