Fresh off of a glowing profile in Westchester Magazine, Eric Trump and his brother, Donald Trump Jr., opened a “world class clubhouse” at Trump Ferry Point golf course in New York on Monday.
The Trump progeny are hoping the new structure—which appears to be nothing but a building on the grounds of the golf course—will turn around the failing Bronx golf course.
Revenue at the Trump Ferry Point fell 7% last year, according to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Associated Press. But Eric Trump told the news wire that business at at least one of the other Trump golf courses is booming (emphasis mine):
The Trump Organization oversees 17 golf courses, generating $221 million in revenue last year, according to the president’s latest financial disclosure report. A comparable figure from the year earlier is not available, but Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press that that number is up.
He said one of the company’s biggest courses — the Doral in Miami, which generated $75 million in revenue last year — is doing especially well.
“The Doral is on fire,” he said.
The president’s unpopularity in New York—where Trump has a -21 net approval rating, according to Morning Consult—could be one reason for the Bronx location’s dwindling revenue. Another reason is that Bronx residents can’t afford the private course’s steep fees. According to Trump Ferry Point’s website, New York City residents get a $39 discount on an 18-hole round of golf, bringing the cost to $185. The dress code, naturally, forbids T-shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes.
So, what fantastic services did golfers visiting Trump Ferry Point receive in exchange for their tee times? According to a New York Times story about the course from last year:
At the course this week, a tent was being used as a temporary clubhouse and a wooden building was the pro shop. One caddie, who refused to provide his name for fear of losing his job, said that as a Democrat who did not support Mr. Trump, it was difficult working at the course. His friends gave him a hard time, too.
The real story here isn’t that business at the president’s golf courses is down, that the president’s sons have shown the same business prowess running a multi-billion dollar organization as two-thirds of the Three Stooges, or even that the AP item today referred to them as “Donald Trump’s two adult sons”; it’s that the president’s relatives, who have also been installed in posts around the White House, continue to profit off of the family’s businesses.
The president’s family is blatantly using the power of the White House to funnel money into their own pockets. Unfortunately, we’re far past the point of anyone even pretending to care about corruption in Trump’s orbit.