Citing fake news and harassing Democrats who create a negative climate surrounding the presidency of Donald Trump and his namesake organization, the Trump Organization on Thursday said it was shelving indefinitely plans to develop its two latest hotel brands – Scion and American Idea.
Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger, who will stay in his role, told HOTELS on Friday, “We will continue to do what we always have and that is to a run a terrific hotel company with world-class properties. We know what we are up against in today’s climate and if we have to slow down our growth for the time being, we are happy to do it.”
In a Thursday New York Times report, President Trump’s son Eric Trump, who leads the organization with his brother Donald Trump, Jr., said, “We live in a climate where everything will be used against us, whether by the fake news or by Democrats who are only interested in presidential harassment and wasting everyone’s time, barraging us with nonsense letters.”
For what Trump Hotels originally boasted at the launch two years ago would be a pipeline of some 30 to 40 hotels, only one developer in Cleveland, Mississippi, had committed to building properties under the new brands. Dinesh and Suresh Chawla, Chawla Pointe LLC, were working on one Scion, which had gone through multiple changes and delays during the development process, and as many as three American Idea hotels.
The Chawlas reportedly will move forward with the developments under different brand names and reached a settlement with the Trumps on the projects. It is unclear whether the Trumps were required to compensate the Chawlas in some way for pulling out. In the joint statement, the Chawlas said, “We understand their position completely.”
Other potential development partners reportedly were scared away by the prospects of intense media coverage and legal and financial vetting from the Trump Organization’s outside ethics adviser, The Times reported, citing people briefed on the matter. The same people said Trump Hotels was walking away from more than a dozen potential deals in Washington, D.C., and at least five states.
President Trump recently told The Times that the role of president was not conducive to business development. “I lost massive amounts of money doing this job,” he said. “This is one of the great losers of all time.”