 "Donald Trump")
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition website, created this week, laid out some bold plans — and some errors.
The new site, greatagain.gov, said until Friday afternoon that he owned at least four properties that the Trump Organization has long said he doesn’t, including Trump-branded buildings in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Brazil and Panama that were built and are owned by others. The transition site, which was launched Wednesday, also said he owned six Manhattan towers in which he has only partial or negligible interest.
After the transition team was contacted by Bloomberg News, the sections were removed from the website. Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Trump, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
This wasn’t the first time there’s been confusion about what buildings the billionaire actually owns and those that merely bear his name. Trump expanded his footprint by trading his brand for licensing and management fees, without having to invest in or construct the buildings. Condo buyers have sued, claiming marketing materials suggested Trump owned the buildings even though sales agreements explained his limited role.
The transition site still features plans to reform the tax code and build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
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Before the website was fixed, it said: “The Trump organization owns some of the world’s top properties, including, among many others, the world-renowned Fifth Avenue skyscraper, Trump Tower, as well as Trump Parc, Trump Palace, Trump Plaza, the Trump World Tower, Trump Park Avenue, and, most recently, the transformation of the Old Post Office Building in Washington.”
Trump does own some space at the Fifth Avenue Tower but most of the building’s floors have been sold off to others, according to property records. Trump Parc, Trump Palace and Trump World Tower are condominium towers where his interest is residual, the records show. The president-elect still owns about 20 unsold units in the Park Avenue building, and he pays rent to the federal government to operate his Washington Hotel.
The transition site also said Trump owns properties in Brazil, Canada, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Panama, Scotland, Ireland and others locations. But the Trump Organization site said he doesn’t own the branded properties in Turkey, Brazil and Panama. The Azerbaijan project also has a local owner and developer.
