Donald Trump Jr. Accused of Seeking to Cash in on Father's Presidency With 'Dinner and Conversation' Prize for Indian Investors
Critics have accused Donald Trump Jr. of seeking to cash in on his First Family status by offering Indian property investors an exclusive "dinner and conversation” audience.
The eldest son of President Donald Trump is visiting India this week to promote a planned Trump Towers development near Delhi.
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A full page advertisement that ran on the cover of several Indian newspapers over the weekend featured a picture of Trump Jr., alongside the tagline "Trump is here. Are you invited?"
Trump Jr. took on day-to-day control of the Trump Organization when his father became president in 2016. However, ethics lawyers warned of clashes of interest between the White House and the Trump Organization’s finances, with President Trump remaining the owner.
Those who purchase an apartment before Tuesday in a tower block the company is developing with local partners in Gurgaon, about an hour south of Delhi, will be invited to dine with Trump Jr. on Thursday, The Guardian reported. Some apartments are on the market for more than $1 million.
Daniel S. Markey, who worked on South Asia policy for the State Department during the George W. Bush administration, expressed surprise at Trump Jr.’s involvement in the deal.
"The idea that the president's son would be going and shilling the president's brand at the same time Donald Trump is president and is managing strategic and foreign relations with India - that is just bizarre," he told The New York Times.
Government transparency campaign group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew) said in a report released last month that President Trump was profiting from his businesses as a result of being president.
It pointed to reports in Indian media that prices of apartments in Trump Organization branded developments in India had soared by up to 30 per cent since Trump took office.