CNN’s Tapper: US ‘shamelessly’ advertising Trump’s businesses

CNN host Jake Tapper on Monday said the State Department is “shamelessly” advertising President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

“Well, they’re just shamelessly promoting his products on U.S. government, taxpayer-financed websites. And we know that Mar-a-Lago has benefited from President Trump being elected president,” Tapper said on CNN’s “The Lead.”

The U.S. Embassy in London published a blog post touting Trump’s exclusive Palm Beach, Fla., resort as a place that has “become well known as the President frequently travels there to work or host foreign leaders.”

{mosads}The entry, posted earlier this month, originated from a post by Share America, a site operated by the State Department that shares “compelling stories and images that spark discussion and debate on important topics” with U.S. embassies and consulates in over 140 countries.

Acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters Monday he was unaware of the post.

Some ethics watchdogs and Democratic groups have warned that the Florida club presents a conflict of interest. They say foreign leaders or diplomats could try to curry favor with the Trump administration by visiting or buying a membership at Mar-a-Lago.  

“Now we are learning that the State Department promoted the property and still is promoting the property on websites describing it as, ‘the winter White House, and a prominent place where President Trump hosts foreign leaders,’ ” Tapper said.

Trump himself has referred to the club as the winter White House and used it to host foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.