The Miss Universe pageant may have given international exposure to the city of Doral (despite technically not being held there), but the back-and-forth between the city government and Donald Trump has certainly given local exposure to how odd local politics can be.
Just a few weeks after publicly declaring that Donald Trump didn't "deserve" a key to the City of Doral, Mayor Luigi Boria pulled an emergency motion yesterday to rush a vote to in fact award Trump that key he didn't deserve.
See also: Doral Mayor: Donald Trump "Doesn't Deserve" Key to the City
Boria had previously come under scrutiny from some residents for going on something of a "key spree," by awarding keys to the city left and right. Earlier this month, he notified the city council that he'd like to award keys to Trump as well as Miss Universe President Paula M. Shugart.
Trump is a divisive figure in Doral. (Well, he's a divisive figure everywhere, but especially in Doral.) After buying the Doral Gulf Resort and Spa and re-dubbing it the Trump National Doral, he planted trees along one of the golf courses obstructing residential views of the greenway. Then, after a bit of drama, he wooed the city to invest $2.5 million in public money to brining the Miss Universe pageant to the city.
Boria's original request was met with backlash, and within hours he was telling the Miami Herald that "Trump doesn't deserve my key." Later, he clarified that he did in fact believe Trump deserved "his" key, and said he'd try again later.
Fast forward to two weeks later, after the Miss Universe pageant has concluded, and Boria has followed through.
"I have a special thanks for Mr. Trump that made his decision to bring this pageant to the city," Boria said at a Wednesday council meeting according to the Herald. "And at this point, as a part of this agenda, I consider it an emergency, to bring the issue of giving the key to Mr. Donald Trump. At this point, I would like the support from this council to issue the key to Mr. Trump."
Yes, what could be more of an emergency than granting a billionaire a symbolic award?
Usually it takes a week to have an item heard by the city council in Doral, but Boria used a special clause in the city charter to put the item on the agenda as a "lay-down" item. Those are typically reserved for actual emergencies. This also meant that the public was not granted time to weigh in on the decision.
Regardless, the City Council voted 4-1 to give Trump the key. Councilwoman Christi Fraga was the only dissenting vote.
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