Trump's comments against Muslims could cost him in Persian Gulf
Donald Trump's latest comments have license partners in Dubai removing Trump's name and image and leading GOP members discussing a brokered convention.
Republican presidential candidate, businessman Donald Trump gestures at a regional police union meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015. Trump has been widely criticized for his comments against Muslims.
Charles Krupa/AP
Donald Trump’s latest comments have everyone from fellow GOP bigwigs to a Dubai golf course owner reeling.
The 2016 Republican presidential hopeful called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” earlier this week following the fatal shooting last week in San Bernardino, Calif.
Mr. Trump has attempted to make several investment opportunities in the Middle East, which his comments may now nullify.
“In Dubai, Trump had a deal with Damac Properties to license his name and image for a housing project and two golf courses for an undisclosed sum,” reported The Washington Post. Trump’s image and name have now been removed.
Dubai-based Landmark Group has also removed all Trump home decor products from its 180 Lifestyle stores, reported the New York Post.
And in Istanbul, the general manager of Trump Towers, Bulent Kural, says he “regrets and condemns” Trump’s comments. “We are assessing the legal dimension of our relationship with the Trump brand,” a statement from Mr. Kural said.
But Trump also received criticism closer to home.
“One has to wonder what Donald Trump will say next as he ramps up his anti-Muslim bigotry,” said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations in an interview with The Washington Post. “Where is there left for him to go? Are we talking internment camps? Are we talking the final solution to the Muslim question? I feel like I’m back in the 1930s.”
“I disagree with Donald Trump's latest proposal. His habit of making offensive and outlandish statements will not bring Americans together,” said fellow GOP presidential candidate and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in a statement.
With Trump still leading in most polls, some prominent GOP members seem to be getting worried. In a meeting earlier this week, some 20 “leading figures of the party’s establishment” discussed the possibility of a brokered convention.
“If the controversial billionaire storms through the primaries, the party’s establishment must lay the groundwork for a floor fight in which the GOP’s mainstream wing could coalesce around an alternative,” said some who attended the meeting.
If such a floor flight occurred, it would be the first time in 40 years the GOP gathered at the Republican National Convention without a clear nominee.