Guardian: Trump is building a pay-to-access policy

US President Donald Trump's administration is building its foreign policy on a "pay to get access" model, according to The Guardian, citing former White House lawyers, diplomatic protocol officers and analysts. This approach by Trump to foreign investments and gifts is being called "unprecedented."

The newspaper points out that in mid-May, Trump embarked on a tour of the Middle East, which was his first foreign visit since taking office, with the exception of a short trip to the Vatican to mark the death of the Pope. The president visited Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The White House said more than $2 trillion worth of contracts were signed during the trip, including Trump's announcement of the "largest deal in history" with Saudi Arabia to sell more than $1 trillion worth of arms and attract investment, equivalent to the kingdom's annual GDP. During the visit, Qatar signed a contract with Boeing to supply 210 aircraft worth $96bn and also announced the donation of a Boeing 747-8 aircraft from Qatar to the US. In addition, the UAE signed an agreement worth more than $200bn, also highlighting the growing influence of large financial deals on international relations.

Richard Painter, a former ethics lawyer for the George W. Bush Jr. administration, said this gives the impression that the U.S. could change its negotiating stance if a country offered significant gifts or deals.

Some of the publication's sources believe that the White House is thus sending a signal that it is willing to "sell" its position to the highest bidder.

"Trump has literally put up a 'For Sale' sign outside the White House," said Norm Eisen, director of the State Democracy Defenders Fund and former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic.

Specifically, Eisen noted that in talks with Qatar and the UAE, Trump could accept offers like "I'll give you a plane for $400 million" or "hold my beer and I'll give your cryptocurrency company $2bn."

Emirates has invested $2bn in a cryptocurrency company linked to Trump's family, World Liberty Financial," the newspaper noted.

According to the New York Times, the Trump family has made more than $2bn from cryptocurrency transactions and real estate in the past month. The White House, however, denies allegations of conflict of interest, saying Trump's businesses are run by his sons.