Donald Trump is in Miami today to distract from the fact that he’s (as he admitted this morning) under investigation for obstruction of justice with a vindictive partisan ploy to reverse an Obama Administration diplomatic breakthrough with Cuba. And if Trump plays his cards right, he may even be able to abuse his presidential power to help out his own business interests by hurting some of his hospitality industry competitors.
Here’s what you should know ahead of Trump’s Florida visit:
- Trump will trash Cuba as he looks to reimpose travel restrictions lifted by Obama, but remember: Trump himself violated the Cuban embargo by trying to secretly conduct business in Fidel Castro-led Cuba during the late 1990s.
- Everything Trump does should be interpreted through the lens of How does this help Trump?, and with the latest Cuba changes, the answer is clear: Restricting business deals and limiting tourism between the U.S. and Cuba hurts Trump’s direct rivals in the hospitality industry.
- There have been 6,190 announced mass-layoffs in Florida since Trump took office — but you can bet Trump won’t talk about the workers being laid off and left behind when he visits Miami today.
- While Trump isn’t explicitly going to Florida for a taxpayer-funded promotional tour of his properties, there’s probably an upwards-of-75-percent chance that he’ll plug Mar-a-Lago or one of his Florida golf clubs.
- And lastly: When the U.S. pushes Cuba away, Putin wins. Is there a pattern here?
Published: Jun 16, 2017