“False and nasty”: President Trump accuses former guest of bed bug fake news
A man who sued and then settled over itchy welts contracted at a Donald Trump-owned resort likely to host world leaders next year says he’s “outraged” by the president’s denial of the issue.
Eric Linder is bound by a confidentiality agreement not to discuss the settlement of his 2016 lawsuit – but the 66-year-old was itching to speak out following a presidential tweet deriding bedbug claims about the Trump National Doral resort near Miami, Florida.
“I’m outraged by it,” he told the New York Daily News.
The president tweeted this week that there are “no bedbugs at Doral” and claimed “Radical Left Democrats” had “spread that false and nasty rumour”.
“Not nice!” the president ended the Tweet.
Mr Trump’s proposal to host the next G7 summit at the resort, televised live at the current G7 summit in Biarritz, prompted a social media frenzy, with the hashtag #TrumpBedBugs trending as reports of Linder’s case were shared.
As part of his lawsuit, Linder demanded US$15,000 in damages after being subjected to bedbug bites causing “welts, lumps and marks over much of his face, neck, arms and torso”. The details of the settlement remain confidential and Linder refuses to comment further on the “confidential” matter.
Vanity Fair, however, reports the resort made the claim that the guest “conducted himself so carelessly and negligently that his conduct was the sole proximate cause or contributing cause” for the bed bug issue.
The publication went on to speculate: “Did he raid the minibar and have unprotected sex with a bed bug?”
The Daily News reports the president’s efforts to host the G7 at his own accom property is a more serious cause for concern, even among his Republican allies, with one Conservative insider arguing the president should “just stop” trying to use the White House to steer business to his properties.
Trump told G7 delegates his resort would be the best venue because of its proximity to Miami’s airport and “spectacular” bungalows. He claimed that government experts had agreed with his opinion after reviewing several options, which he did not name.
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