Money Grab/Give government contracts to family and donors
Trump picks his own Doral resort to host 2026 G20 summit
On September 5, 2025, Trump announced the United States would hold the 2026 G20 leaders’ summit at Trump National Doral near Miami, with no competitive site selection. The White House said Doral would host at cost with no profit to Trump. Ethics groups noted that delegations’ food, lodging and other spending would still flow to his business.
What happened
On September 5, 2025, Trump announced from the Oval Office that the 2026 G20 leaders’ summit would be held at Trump National Doral. The United States holds the G20 presidency in 2026. Doral is the golf resort he owns near Miami International Airport. “The best location is right here,” he said, citing the airport and the resort’s capacity for delegations.
There was no competitive process, no other city produced a proposal, and the White House released no comparison of alternatives. The summit is scheduled for December 14-15, 2026. Trump had tried to hold the 2020 G7 at Doral and dropped the plan after Republicans objected.
The White House said Doral would host “at cost” and take no profit from the State Department or any foreign government. It named Kevin Hassett and Scott Bessent to organize the event, which Trump wants kept small. Ethics groups said the at-cost claim could not be tested against competing bids and that the summit would fill the resort.
Who benefited
The Trump Organization, which owns Doral, gets a guaranteed run of rooms and event business from the world’s largest economies in December 2026. The White House is vouching for the resort’s pricing. Trump benefits through the company.
Who wanted something
There is no outside counterparty here, because the president directed the business to himself. The payers will be the U.S. government and the foreign delegations attending. Ethics groups noted that delegations’ food, lodging and other spending would still flow to his business.
Who lost out
The summit is paid for with U.S. taxpayer money and foreign governments’ funds, and none of it was tested against another venue’s price. Other U.S. cities and venues never got to bid. You are among the payers.
Why it matters
The president used the power to pick a summit site to send government and foreign-government spending to his own property. The at-cost promise rests on the White House’s word, since no other bid exists to measure it against. The money will flow in December 2026.
Sources CBS NewsWLRN (AP)The Capitolist