As reporters Bernard Condon and Jonathan Lemire noted, an estimated $50 billion a month could be lost globally if tourism and travel continue to suffer as people avoid straying too far from their homes. While an alleged “firewall” exists between Trump and the for-profit company he owns, that’s obviously just for show and not a great show at that. The president routinely talks up his properties in the press, uses them to host foreign leaders, and, according to his son Eric, receives quarterly updates on how the business is faring. As the virus snaked around the globe, the president was slow, per the AP, to “embrace federal recommendations against the elderly boarding airplanes or passengers traveling on cruise ships,” which could simply be a matter of him characteristically having no idea what he’s doing, or it could be a reticence to do anything that might hurt his bottom line. Or maybe a bit of both!

...the Trump properties can ill afford a downturn in business. The Trump Organization has been struggling from lost business due to a backlash against the president’s rhetoric and his policies. Several buildings licensing his name have stripped it from their facades, major groups have canceled events at his resorts, and his Scottish golf clubs continue to lose millions. Even his Washington hotel, for all its buzz, is showing signs of struggling, as rooms stand empty. The Trump Organization recently put the hotel up for sale. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

While Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, acknowledged that he doesn’t know what’s going through Trump’s head when, for example, the president tells people not to worry at all about the novel coronavirus, he noted that Trump’s refusal to sell his business before taking office makes it pretty damn hard to take his word for it. “We have to ask with almost every major policy decision whether he’s acting in the country’s interest or his own interest,” Bookbinder said. “In a time of crisis like this, being able to trust our institutions, that our government is making the right decision for our health, economy, and security, is incredibly important.”

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