Mulvaney says he thinks Trump knows people thought Doral decision looked ‘lousy’

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Sunday said he thinks President Trump knows the decision to host the Group of Seven (G-7) summit at his Doral golf resort looked “lousy.”

{mosads}Mulvaney offered the view on “Fox New Sunday” after being asked about Trump’s reversal of his decision on Saturday night.

Mulvaney announced on Thursday that Trump had reversed his initial decision to host the event at his Doral resort, a move that was criticized by lawmakers in both parties who said it would make it appear, in the least, that the president was profiting from the event.

Fox’s Chris Wallace asked Mulvaney if Trump comprehended that the plan to host the G-7 at his resort “looked lousy.”

“I think he knows. He thinks people think it looks lousy,” Mulvaney told Wallace.

“President Donald Trump has abruptly reversed his plan to hold the next year’s Group of Seven world leaders’ meeting at his Doral golf resort in Florida.
“I think he knows,” his acting chief of staff said Sunday, “people think it looks lousy.” https://t.co/WBHr7BQuCf

— Michael Tackett (@tackettdc) October 20, 2019

Mulvaney described Trump as being “surprised” by the “level of pushback.”

The acting chief of staff defended the president’s decision, saying the administration could have made an “excellent” summit for the G-7 members and that Trump still “considers himself to be in the hospitality business.”

The administration has also repeatedly insisted that Trump would not have made money from the event.

The president announced his reversal in a tweet sent late Saturday, saying he “thought I was doing something very good for our Country.” He criticized the “Hostile Media” and “their Democrat Partners” of going “CRAZY!” 

I thought I was doing something very good for our Country by using Trump National Doral, in Miami, for hosting the G-7 Leaders. It is big, grand, on hundreds of acres, next to MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, has tremendous ballrooms & meeting rooms, and each delegation would have…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2019