
The "prize" is a symbol of a significant problem for Trump and his company: ethical rot and double-dealing.

A condo project in Gurgaon, Indian, that bears his name is dangling a "prize" to prospective buyers: the chance to personally meet with Donald Trump Jr.

The Washington Post reports that developer Pankaj Bansal announced Trump Jr. "will host" the first 100 people to buy luxury apartments in the Indian Trump Towers. A spokesman for the company, M3M India, confirmed the prize proceedings to the paper.

The details of the arrangement come as the world is learning that other Trump properties are in need of money and occupants. Since becoming president, the Trump brand has become increasingly toxic. Occupancies at his hotels are down, and condo associations are working to remove the Trump name while his company threatens lawsuits to force them to keep his name in place.


While this particular property claims to be doing well thus far, the prize deal is a symbol of another significant problem for Trump and his company: ethical rot and double-dealing.

Trump Jr., along with his brother Eric, are in charge of the Trump Organization. In a break with presidential tradition, Donald Trump has refused to divest from or sell off his family businesses, and thus makes profits based on whatever deals are cooked up by his sons. This has left Trump open to financial persuasion from foreign entities, who can simply buy goods from his companies or book rooms at his hotels to curry favor with him as he leads American foreign policy.

Trump's company has taken advantage of this arrangement by raising prices, like charging $2,134 a night for the "Ivanka Suite" at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., after charging $914 a night for it in 2017.

"They are auctioning off access to the first family in a foreign land," Norman L. Eisen, co-chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told the Post. "What is to stop a foreign national with interests before the U.S. government from purchasing a flat, or tagging along with someone who did, simply to ask Don Junior to raise some issue or concern with his father?"

Trump is an unpopular president. Many of his resorts, golf courses, and condos are suffering because of his open racism and sexism, while they have also opened the floodgates to foreign interests seeking to exert influence over his White House.

The combination is a sordid mess, highlighting his ongoing personal business failures, and the bribery and double-dealing that he has become infamous for, which he has enshrined in his presidency.

Editor's note: This post has been updated to reflect that the property in India, unlike some struggling Trump properties, claims to be succeeding.