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On Sunday, the official White House account tweeted out a message to the generous hoteliers of America: “Thank you to hotels around the country for providing healthcare workers and first responders a place to stay while they’re on the front lines of the pandemic.” Though Trump rarely forgoes an opportunity to promote himself, the White House was not able to include any of his properties in the letter of gratitude. According to a report from Politico, Trump hotels are not providing space for health-care workers in U.S. cities grappling with substantial coronavirus outbreaks.
Never a man of great charity, Trump and his organization have not offered up his buildings for the cause. In New York, Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo have requested that hotels aid the city in its goal of tripling its 20,000 hospital beds by next month. While at least 20 hotels have offered their services, the Trump International Hotel and Tower overlooking Central Park has not. Three hotels neighboring the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago are welcoming first responders to stay, and are receiving “a base rate to pay for the cost of labor and operation.” The president’s company did not heed the call there either.
Though the Trump Organization is not alone in its decision not to lend a room, their resorts don’t have anything more lucrative going on either: Last week, the New York Times reported that the president’s company is seeking a bailout from its longtime look-the-other-way lender, Deutsche Bank. Of the Trump properties that remain open, Politico reports that they’re not doing so for financial gain. “There’s no business reason for” staying open, a union official familiar with the situation told Politico. “They’re trying to support what the president is pushing from the podium.”
