Trump Got Fits Of Fake White Tiger And Cheetah Fur From Saudis

The Saudi royal family showered Donald Trump and his entourage on his first trip abroad as president with dozens of presents, including three robes made with white tiger, and cheetah fur, and a dagger with a handle that appeared to be ivory.

Photo Insert: Inspectors found out that the linings of the robes were dyed to mimic tiger and cheetah patterns and were not comprised of protected species

Little that followed went right, Michael S. Schmidt reported for the New York Times.

A White House lawyer determined that possession of the furs and dagger most likely violated the Endangered Species Act, but the Trump administration held onto them and failed to disclose them as gifts received from a foreign government.

On the last full day of Trump’s presidency, the White House handed them over to the General Services Administration — the wrong agency — rather than the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which seized the gifts this summer. At that point, there was a surprise. The furs, from an oil-rich family worth billions of dollars, were 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 spokesperson for the Interior Department, which oversees the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The tale of the furs is but one example of how gift exchanges between the United States and foreign leaders — a highly regulated process intended to shield administrations from questions of impropriety — devolved into sometimes risible shambles during the Trump administration.

The State Department’s inspector general is investigating allegations that Trump’s political appointees walked off with gift bags worth thousands of dollars that were meant for foreign leaders at the Group of 7 summit planned for Camp David in Maryland in 2020, which was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bags contained dozens of items purchased with government funds, including leather portfolios, pewter trays, and marble trinket boxes emblazoned with the presidential seal or the signatures of Trump and his wife, Melania.

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