By Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House said on Thursday it is not yet ready to announce the location of next year’s Group of 20 leaders’ summit, following reports that President Donald Trump is considering hosting the event at his Doral golf club in Miami, Florida.
“No firm announcement is ready to be made at this time,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Asked if Trump hosting the G20 summit, a forum of the world’s largest economies, at his own property would raise concerns about profiting from the event, Leavitt responded, “I would reject that premise entirely.”
Trump attempted to host the 2020 G7 summit at the same Miami-area golf club during his first term but reversed the decision after backlash over using his own property for an international event.
The Republican has continued to blur the lines between his presidential role and personal business interests. During a recent trip to Scotland, he visited two of his golf resorts, Trump Turnberry and Trump International Scotland, where he took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new 18-hole course.
Trump said on Tuesday he might skip the G20 leaders’ summit in South Africa in November and send someone else to represent the United States, citing his disapproval of South African policies.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose in WashingtonEditing by Colleen Jenkins and Chizu Nomiyama )
