Star Metro - Trump brand alternately loved, loathed worldwide

No stranger to blending business and politics, the US president got a taste of the hazards recently when the elegant clubhouse of the Trump Turnberry golf resort in Scotland was splashed in blood-red paint, an immaculate green spray-painted with the words: "GAZA IS NOT 4 SALE."

A pro-Palestinian group claimed the "act of resistance," saying it was in answer to Trump's proposal to take over the Gaza Strip, expel its inhabitants and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East."

Another Trump golf course in Ireland was targeted last week, when activists planted Palestinian flags on the greens.

But management at the property in the village of Doonbeg says the golf course is receiving record numbers of membership applications since its owner's re-election.

- Luxury symbol -

A world away, on the tropical island of Bali, weeds have overrun the Nirwana golf resort, which the Trump Organization and a local partner signed a deal in 2015 to develop a six-star destination.

The resort closed two years later, costing local workers their jobs. The Trump family empire has since then joined up with local partners in a large real estate project near Indonesia's capital Jakarta.

But that venture, a vast luxury development called Lido City, has also run into problems. In February, the Indonesian government halted the billion-dollar project over environmental violations.

Still, a Trump-branded golf course should soon open on the site in collaboration with a local group.

"Trump as a brand in Indonesia is not too famous, different than Trump as a president," Yoes Kenawas, a political scientist at Indonesia's Atma Jaya University, told AFP.

India is another story: there, flamboyant Trump towers already scrape the smoggy skies of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Pune, making the country the most important overseas market for the Trump organization.

Like in the Philippines, Turkey, South Korea and Uruguay, the real-estate tycoon's family does not invest directly in the properties, which are built and managed by local developers.

Instead, the Trump family collects royalties, sometimes running into the millions of dollars, for licensing its brand -- which, to a newly wealthy Indian jet set, is widely seen as a byword for luxury and success.

"I think the brand has become much larger than life, particularly after he's come back for a second term," Anuj Puri, chairman of real-estate consultancy Anarock, told AFP.

"He's more in the newspapers than even any Indian politician."

Another Trump-branded office and retail project was announced this week in Pune, and there are plans for five new Trump towers around the country in the coming years.

- Conflicts of interest? -

As in his first term, Trump, 78, has officially ceded management of his business interests to his children during his presidency.

But that has not erased concerns over potential conflicts of interest.

"The Trump presidency is transactional, and is turning America into a more neo-patrimonial state, where there are blurred lines between the public and private space," said Deepanshu Mohan, a professor at India's OP Jindal Global University.

"This is how the Trump government operates and (what it) expects of its allies. India has also accordingly reacted to cozy up to Trump."

A blooming bromance between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on display during the latter's recent visit to Washington.

In January, the Trump Organization pledged it would engage in "no new transactions with foreign governments" during Trump's second term, except for "ordinary course transactions."

It said all money generated by transactions such as foreign dignitaries staying at Trump properties would be donated to the US treasury.

But the boundaries can be fuzzy.

A Trump-branded hotel and golf complex is currently under construction in Oman on government-owned land. The Trump family also has a deal with LIV Golf, the pro tour controlled by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

The Trump Organization did not respond to requests to comment from AFP.

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A.Hill--SMC