It isn’t clear when the oil industry made their reservation for a two-day board meeting at the Trump International Hotel in Washington. But it seems that industries are adapting their lobbying strategies to the age of President Trump.
The American Petroleum Institute illustrates this evolution. They are quite literally paying the president whose support they want on policy. As Politico reports, the API organization began hosting its annual board meeting at the Trump Hotel on Wednesday, less than 24 hours before walking over to the White House to lobby the president in person.
The petroleum lobby has a difficult task: convincing Trump to renege on his trademark promise to impose hefty tariffs on aluminum and steel. That protectionism hurts their bottom line and so, in a move that has the appearance of corruption, they are slipping the Trump family a couple tens-of-thousands of dollars.
Can anyone think of a better way to start a meeting with Trump than to subtly show fealty by complimenting one of his properties?
It’s clear that spending money at Trump properties gets you access to Trump. Spend $200,000 to become a member at Mar-a-Lago, where the first family regularly vacations on the weekends.
Ever since the inauguration, special interests have flocked to Trump’s properties for access. But for something extra, when big negotiations are on the line, industry shells out and rents the Trump Hotel. If this works, expect the cost of a night at that establishment to skyrocket.
