WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump, trying to dig out from two new political holes of his own making on top of the expanding House impeachment inquiry, held forth for 71 minutes Monday during what was ostensibly a Cabinet meeting but ended up being a familiar torrent of grievance, defensiveness and bold statements about his expansive view of his own powers.
After reversing on his plan to hold the next G-7 summit at his Doral, Fla., golf resort, Trump dismissed criticism that he was profiting off his presidency.
"The Democrats went crazy," Trump said, commenting on criticism that he was using the presidency to enrich himself. "You don't think I get enough promotion? I get more promotion than every human being that has ever lived. I don't need promotion. It would have been the greatest G-7 ever.
"You people with this phony Emoluments Clause," Trump said, commenting on the clause in the Constitution that bars federal officials from taking "emoluments," or forms of payment or profit, from any "king, prince, or foreign state" as an ethics guideline.
The president repeated his claim that he had lost billions in dollars by becoming president, particularly in the hospitality sector, and asserted that holding the G-7 event at Doral would have saved the country money.
"I'm making a big difference for the country," Trump said. "So whether I lost $2 billion, $5 billion, more or less, it doesn't make any difference to me. I don't care. If you're rich, it doesn't matter. I'm doing this for the country."
