Donald Trump plays golf at Trump National Doral (screen grab)
President Donald Trump was harshly criticized on Tuesday after a bombshell new report in The New York Times.
“The ambassador’s deputy, Lewis A. Lukens, advised him not to do it, warning that it would be an unethical use of the presidency for private gain, these people said,” reported Mark Landler, Lara Jakes, and Maggie Haberman. “But Mr. Johnson apparently felt pressured to try. A few weeks later, he raised the idea of Turnberry playing host to the Open with the secretary of state for Scotland, David Mundell.”
Noah Bookbinder, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), blasted Trump.
Our ambassador, at President Trump's urging, reportedly asked the British government to steer the British Open to T… https://t.co/3KWBQ9uXZS— Noah Bookbinder (@Noah Bookbinder) 1595374527.0
Here's what others were saying:
The president gave a patronage position to a wealthy donor and then asked him to take official action to benefit hi… https://t.co/pxKW8gP9z3— Adam Smith (@Adam Smith) 1595372373.0
Trump is using his office to line his own pockets. Every Senator who voted to keep him in office has made Trump’s… https://t.co/RNGbrh5HG2— Renato Mariotti (@Renato Mariotti) 1595374080.0
Hate to say it, folks But if this is true it is blatant corruption and a textbook impeachable offense. https://t.co/iWLnEhuyUC— Jon Cryer (@Jon Cryer) 1595373510.0
Yikes. https://t.co/fhbXbEurV4 https://t.co/jJJuADzqE1— Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@Molly Jong-Fast🏡) 1595373185.0
Trumpian corruption is as imaginative as it is endless: President Trump used the US ambassador to the UK to try to… https://t.co/hMALNXa5nV— Nicholas Kristof (@Nicholas Kristof) 1595371947.0
The whole presidency is one long grift. https://t.co/Th0mjhJq0T— Neil King (@Neil King) 1595373573.0
The grift never ends https://t.co/5EjGBHz8Qn— Timenezer Screwge (@Timenezer Screwge) 1595374418.0
Another day, another potentially impeachable offense. https://t.co/0Avig6gAa1— Matt Ford (@Matt Ford) 1595371894.0
Woody Johnson, owner of the NFL's @nyjets, as well as Trump's UK ambassador. https://t.co/Owu6Y91lxt— Chris De Benedetti (@Chris De Benedetti) 1595372598.0
Trump is a corrupt thug. https://t.co/gmuEuQLnHN— Matt Murphy (@Matt Murphy) 1595373357.0
How can something be so completely ridiculous and impeachable at the same time https://t.co/KyfhX5D3Vr— Cody Fenwick (@Cody Fenwick) 1595371894.0
The swamp keeps overflowing: Trump trying to use his presidency to push the Brits to move the British Open to a Tru… https://t.co/TX3UPn2gsq— Kurt "Masks Save Lives" Eichenwald (@Kurt "Masks Save Lives" Eichenwald) 1595371866.0
What is described is a blatant misuse of office and position. https://t.co/eex4u6HvQH— Philip Hackney (@Philip Hackney) 1595371767.0
I know it’s a cliche ...but this seems swampy! https://t.co/rzwB7l7UPt— Glenn Kessler (@Glenn Kessler) 1595372745.0
I used to think a president couldn't do that. I guess now they can? https://t.co/Eth2RIlf74— Dennis Herring (@Dennis Herring) 1595374202.0
The con goes on. https://t.co/giCZXp03Oj— Paul Begala (@Paul Begala) 1595371628.0
Instead of working with other countries to fight the pandemic, Trump is trying to leverage them to make money. It's… https://t.co/gxDMJfElDo— Ben Rhodes (@Ben Rhodes) 1595373431.0
Imagine what a scandal this would be if the President wasn't protected by a massive criminal conspiracy- Oops, I me… https://t.co/6xSVcNHPpW— Schooley (@Schooley) 1595373654.0
Which is illegal. Which no one will hold him responsible for. https://t.co/mcPyCB8FDr https://t.co/xigaGmuQAl— Momma Problems (@Momma Problems) 1595374249.0
