US President Donald Trump on Tuesday rebuffed claims that the Trump National Doral Miami hotel in Florida is infested with bedbugs. The golf resort recently made news for being the likely venue of next year's G-7 summit.
"No bedbugs at Doral. The Radical Left Democrats, upon hearing the perfectly located (for the next G-7) Doral National MIAMI was under consideration for the next G-7, spread that false and nasty rumor. Not nice!" Trump tweeted.
The claims referred to a 2016 lawsuit where a New Jersey insurance executive Eric Linder sued the $300-a-night luxury golf resort for having suffered from bedbug bites on his back and neck during his stay. The lawsuit, along with pictures, described the bites as "welts, lumps and marks over much of his face, neck, arms and torso".
Doral responded by saying that Linder's insect bites were because he "conducted himself so carelessly and negligently that his conduct was the sole proximate cause or contributing cause". The case was settled in 2017 ahead of Trump's presidential inauguration.
Details about the lawsuit emerged, including #TrumpBedbugs that trended on Twitter, after Trump made a contentious statement to reporters on Monday at the G-7 summit in France's Biarritz and said the hotel would be the venue for the next global meeting.
The profit that Trump makes from a large number of diplomats and politicians who would be staying at his hotel has worried experts as it would violate the emoluments clause in the US constitution that restricts members of the government from accepting money from foreign states.
Since Trump entered politics, the resort's business fell steeply, according to Forbes, due to loss of his clientele from parts of the country where his politics is unpopular. Trump and government employees have also been criticized on several occasions for meetings and spending tax-payers money at his business properties.
