NEW YORK (The New York Times) – Former U.S. president Donald Trump and his entourage were reportedly showered with gifts during his first presidential trip abroad and visit to the royal family in Saudi Arabia — and among their bounty were “three robes made with white tiger and cheetah fur, and a dagger with a handle that appeared to be ivory,” reports The New York Times.
And not only did the Trump administration reportedly hold onto the diplomatic gifts (against the recommendation of a White House lawyer, who determined they likely violated the Endangered Species Act) and fail to disclose them in a timely fashion as received from a foreign government, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service later this summer discovered the furs were actually fake.
“Wildlife inspectors and special agents determined the linings of the robes were dyed to mimic tiger and cheetah patterns and were not comprised of protected species,” said Tyler Cherry, a spokesman for the Interior Department.
Whether or not the Saudis knew the furs were fraudulent is unclear — but still, Bruce Riedel, an expert on Saudi-U.S. relations, called the gifts “highly embarrassing,” per the Times.
“The two most important things for them is to look like they’re aboveboard world actors, and are rich and show their wealth,” he said.
The Times discovered the robes, which were among over 80 other gifts from the 2017 visit, during a “larger investigation” into the Trump administration’s gift exchange practices, writes Insider.
And the messiness of the Saudi incident is just one example among others of how the “highly regulated” process of diplomatic gift giving “devolved into sometimes risible shambles during the Trump administration,” writes the Times.
Said Stanley M. Brand, an ethics expert: “Whether this was indifference, sloppiness or the Great Train Robbery, it shows such a cavalier attitude to the law and the regular process of government.”