Trump-branded items notably absent from "Made in America" week event
WASHINGTON -- From Texas cowboy hats to Louisiana baseball bats, President Donald Trump highlighted American products made in all 50 states.
"Remember the old days, you used to have 'Made in the USA,'" Mr. Trump said. "We're going to put that brand on our products because it means it's the best."
But notably absent Monday were any Trump-branded items, which in the past he hasn't hesitated to promote, like he did at a campaign press conference at a Trump golf club last year.
"I built a great, great company," he said at the time. "You have the water, you have the steaks, you have the airline that I sold."
In business, Mr. Trump, as well as his daughter and senior adviser, Ivanka, have outsourced manufacturing of their products to countries where labor is cheaper and there are fewer regulations.
Items from the Trump Home Collection, for example, are made in Turkey. Some Ivanka Trump clothes are made in China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Over the weekend, the president was touting his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he was VIP at the U.S. Women's Open tournament. He sent out eight tweets in three days promoting the event.
Visits to his own properties have raised ethical concerns because the president still owns and profits from his companies.
Earlier this month, the government's ethics chief, Walter Shaub, told CBS News he resigned partly over this very issue. He said he tried to raise it in November, but said the president's lawyer shouted him down.
"One of the suggestions that we had hoped to communicate was that even if you're not going to sell them maybe commit to staying away from them," Shaub said.
Since becoming president, Mr. Trump has made 36 visits to half a dozen Trump properties in Florida, Virginia, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. He hasn't stayed at any non-Trump resorts in the U.S.