Thread by @Fahrenthold

Tonight, @vp is speaking to a gala at @realdonaldtrump's D.C. hotel -- a public official, helping one of Trump's private customers.

It's just one speech. But it's an illustration of something about the Trump admin that's changing before our eyes...1/10

washingtonpost.com/politics/a-non…

@VP @realDonaldTrump I think of the Trump Org. beat in terms of 3 I’s:
1. Income. How much $ is @realdonaldtrump making?
2. Influence. Who’s using the biz to influence him?
3. Immigration. Is he relying on undocumented labor while denouncing it in public?
This story illustrates a shift in #1. 2/10

@VP @realDonaldTrump In the past, we showed how Trump’s political rise hurt income, by alienating old customers. Mar-a-Lago lost charity galas. Hotels removed the Trump name. Doral saw profits drop 70%. 3/10
washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…

@VP @realDonaldTrump Trump, of course, had a powerful tool to increase that revenue: the U.S. govt. BUT he had pledged not to use it to help himself. “I will be leaving my great business in total,” he said. 4/10

@VP @realDonaldTrump That was never totally true, of course. Trump kept ownership of his biz. He visited Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster for weekends and international summits. But, starting last year, his visits to his own places began to get more elaborate, expensive and far-flung. 5/10

@VP @realDonaldTrump On Int’l trips, Trump made taxpayer-funded detours to his golf clubs in Scotland (2018) and Ireland (2019). He pulled a large entourage far out of the way, to rent his rooms and buy his food. 6/10
washingtonpost.com/world/europe/t…

@VP @realDonaldTrump Now, he's thinking bigger: Trump has proposed awarding the huge G-7 summit to himself. VP Pence seems to be following his lead: Pence made his first taxpayer-funded detour to a Trump hotel this month, staying 140 miles away from his actual meetings. 7/10 washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…

@VP @realDonaldTrump Tonight, Pence and Pompeo will headline an event for a customer at Trump’s hotel – boosting a nonprofit that boosted their boss. Pence has done it before. It seems to be Pompeo's first time. 8/10
washingtonpost.com/politics/a-non…

@VP @realDonaldTrump So, back to income, one of the 3 I's of this beat.
I first saw that income storyline as a measure of something happening *to* Trump, as his old customers turned away. 9/10

@VP @realDonaldTrump Now, it’s become a measure of something else: a change in @realdonaldtrump himself.
He seems more willing to ignore a bedrock promise of his presidency -- that he'd never use his power to help his biz. And his aides seem less afraid of looking like they're helping. END