It turns out the G-7 summit next year won’t be happening at the Trump Doral resort after all. Consternation erupted last week when it was announced that President Trump essentially awarded himself a government contract to host the event.

A great deal of the commentary that followed (that’s been a nagging theme throughout much of his presidency) is that Trump is attempting to monetize the presidency by enhancing his brand and business, and decisions like this serve as an emblem for it all. But an objective assessment of the actual dollars and cents behind it shows that either Trump is really lousy at this, or he is attempting to do no such thing.