Last Tuesday, an odd duo ascended one of Trump Tower’s golden
elevators: a Zimbabwean-born businessman and religious leader who
claims to have prophesied Donald Trump’s presidential win and a
nationalist pastor from London planning a pro-Trump rally in the
U.K.
According to Instagram posts made by the pair, Uebert Angel, a
flamboyant evangelical minister and mogul who preaches the
prosperity gospel, and Rikki Doolan, his personal assistant, paid a
visit to Trump Tower to sit-down with Eric Danziger, the chief
executive officer of Trump Hotels, President Donald Trump’s hotel
management company.
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It’s not clear what Angel and Doolan discussed with Danziger. Prior to
the meeting Angel implied he had some serious business: a Tuesday
blog post on his personal website, removed after questions from Mother
Jones, said Angel “would be making a trip to
New York City…to finalise corporate ventures for his company,”
specifically mentioning “the grand opening of a hotel in New
York City.” Another version of the photo with Danziger was also
posted on the Instagram account of the Millionaire Academy, a
business venture Angel runs, with the hashtags: “@uebertangel #Money #Cash #motivation#motivationalquotes #prosperity#uebertangel #millionaire #millionairelifestyle#business #life #lifestyle #grind #mindset#mind #real #millionairemindset #win#winning #victory #great #greatness #luxury#highlife #goals”
Shortly before his inauguration, Donald Trump announced a handful of steps, widely criticized
by ethics experts, to distance himself from his business empire and
diminish conflicts of interest. While Trump retained ownership of
his holdings and the right to profit from them, he did pledge that
the Trump organization would refrain from any new foreign deals.
Angel’s visit to New York raises questions about the
company’s willingness, as documented in other recent deals, to continue to explore projects
with internationally-based partners despite this restriction.
Angel’s message, personal charisma, and flamboyant clothes and
lifestyle have garnered him a large following in Zimbabwe. He
treats his hundreds of thousands of social-media followers to
updates on his luxurious life—for example, posting photos of a
Lamborghini he suggested he purchased for his wife. Angel, who
is a British citizen, has a complicated
relationship with his native country’s former longtime dictator,
Robert Mugabe. Angel prefers to focus on prosperity over politics
when preaching, but in 2015, at Mugabe’s 90th birthday celebration,
he sat next to the African strongman, taking the stage to announce
he was part of Mugabe’s political movement and appearing to endorse Mugabe’s policy of seizing
farms from white farmers and political opponents.
Angel’s visit to New York raises questions about the
company’s willingness to continue to explore projects with
internationally-based partners.
“There is no more land being created and there is an opportunity
here that the government under this president has provided to the
people,” Angel was quoted as saying. “As youths, let’s be vigilant
and let’s take that advantage and take what belongs to us.”
More recently, Angel has been critical of Mugabe, and lodged a
complaint that his remarks from the rally had been misquoted.
Earlier this month, Angel’s personal website relayed a claim that the government of Zimbabwe had once
targeted Angel for persecution.
Besides his ministries, Angel also claims to run a series of
successful businesses, with names like The Billion Group and Black
Stallion. The website
for The Angel Organisation, his umbrella company, lists interests
in luxury resorts and a chain of hotels, though details are
sparse.
The meeting is not the first link between Angel, his personal
assistant Doolan, and President Trump. While preaching in February
2016, Angel, who describes himself as a prophet, told his audience
that “God wants a Trump.” He later boasted that God had spoken to him, foretelling
Trump’s victory. Doolan has attracted attention
after Vice identified him as an organizer of “I Am
British,” a nationalist campaign to rally supportive crowds in the
event Trump ever visits the United Kingdom. Doolan declined a
request for comment, but here he is captured in a YouTube video
boosting a prospective “March for Trump!”
The Trump Organization did not respond to questions about
meeting’s content or the relationship between Uebert, Doolan, and
the president’s company, or why they were meeting with its CEO.
Somebody from one of Angel’s companies provided a brief unsigned
email in response to Mother Jones’ inquiries denying any
“cooperation” or “partnership.”
“There is really no story to write
because there was no such discussions about Uebert Angel Hotel or
any cooperation with Trump and if we have we will tell you,” the
email read. “The team there was very
hospitable and there was nothing to do with any partnership … it’s
allowed to visit the Trump Tower so going there should
in no way be seen as a deal between the Trumps and the Angels.”
“There is really no story to
write…it’s allowed to visit the
Trump Tower.”
Danziger took over as CEO of Trump Hotels in 2015, just two
months after Trump announced his presidential run. Trump’s
declaration shortly before his inauguration that, while he would
still own his business empire, he would not have day-to-day control
and would not invest in any new foreign deals, complicated
Danziger’s job. By his account, the company had
to cancel 47 international deals.
The company has been working on developing two new lines of
hotels in the United States—Scion, an upscale chain less luxurious
than Trump-branded properties, and American Idea hotels, which
would compete with chains like Holiday Inn and Fairmont Inn.
Shortly after Trump’s election, a Turkish businessman said he would
be building the first Scion, using foreign cash. The deal was
eventually squashed—in part over the partner’s foreign ties, the
Trump Organization claimed—but the New York Times
reported that it was Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
who had pursued the partnership.
Last Tuesday, an odd duo ascended one of Trump Tower’s golden
elevators: a Zimbabwean-born businessman and religious leader who
claims to have prophesied Donald Trump’s presidential win and a
nationalist pastor from London planning a pro-Trump rally in the
U.K.
According to Instagram posts made by the pair, Uebert Angel, a
flamboyant evangelical minister and mogul who preaches the
prosperity gospel, and Rikki Doolan, his personal assistant, paid a
visit to Trump Tower to sit-down with Eric Danziger, the chief
executive officer of Trump Hotels, President Donald Trump’s hotel
management company.
"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);">
It’s not clear what Angel and Doolan discussed with Danziger. Prior to
the meeting Angel implied he had some serious business: a Tuesday
blog post on his personal website, removed after questions from Mother
Jones, said Angel “would be making a trip to
New York City…to finalise corporate ventures for his company,”
specifically mentioning “the grand opening of a hotel in New
York City.” Another version of the photo with Danziger was also
posted on the Instagram account of the Millionaire Academy, a
business venture Angel runs, with the hashtags: “@uebertangel #Money #Cash #motivation#motivationalquotes #prosperity#uebertangel #millionaire #millionairelifestyle#business #life #lifestyle #grind #mindset#mind #real #millionairemindset #win#winning #victory #great #greatness #luxury#highlife #goals”
Shortly before his inauguration, Donald Trump announced a handful of steps, widely criticized
by ethics experts, to distance himself from his business empire and
diminish conflicts of interest. While Trump retained ownership of
his holdings and the right to profit from them, he did pledge that
the Trump organization would refrain from any new foreign deals.
Angel’s visit to New York raises questions about the
company’s willingness, as documented in other recent deals, to continue to explore projects
with internationally-based partners despite this restriction.
Angel’s message, personal charisma, and flamboyant clothes and
lifestyle have garnered him a large following in Zimbabwe. He
treats his hundreds of thousands of social-media followers to
updates on his luxurious life—for example, posting photos of a
Lamborghini he suggested he purchased for his wife. Angel, who
is a British citizen, has a complicated
relationship with his native country’s former longtime dictator,
Robert Mugabe. Angel prefers to focus on prosperity over politics
when preaching, but in 2015, at Mugabe’s 90th birthday celebration,
he sat next to the African strongman, taking the stage to announce
he was part of Mugabe’s political movement and appearing to endorse Mugabe’s policy of seizing
farms from white farmers and political opponents.
Angel’s visit to New York raises questions about the
company’s willingness to continue to explore projects with
internationally-based partners.
“There is no more land being created and there is an opportunity
here that the government under this president has provided to the
people,” Angel was quoted as saying. “As youths, let’s be vigilant
and let’s take that advantage and take what belongs to us.”
More recently, Angel has been critical of Mugabe, and lodged a
complaint that his remarks from the rally had been misquoted.
Earlier this month, Angel’s personal website relayed a claim that the government of Zimbabwe had once
targeted Angel for persecution.
Besides his ministries, Angel also claims to run a series of
successful businesses, with names like The Billion Group and Black
Stallion. The website
for The Angel Organisation, his umbrella company, lists interests
in luxury resorts and a chain of hotels, though details are
sparse.
The meeting is not the first link between Angel, his personal
assistant Doolan, and President Trump. While preaching in February
2016, Angel, who describes himself as a prophet, told his audience
that “God wants a Trump.” He later boasted that God had spoken to him, foretelling
Trump’s victory. Doolan has attracted attention
after Vice identified him as an organizer of “I Am
British,” a nationalist campaign to rally supportive crowds in the
event Trump ever visits the United Kingdom. Doolan declined a
request for comment, but here he is captured in a YouTube video
boosting a prospective “March for Trump!”
The Trump Organization did not respond to questions about
meeting’s content or the relationship between Uebert, Doolan, and
the president’s company, or why they were meeting with its CEO.
Somebody from one of Angel’s companies provided a brief unsigned
email in response to Mother Jones’ inquiries denying any
“cooperation” or “partnership.”
“There is really no story to write
because there was no such discussions about Uebert Angel Hotel or
any cooperation with Trump and if we have we will tell you,” the
email read. “The team there was very
hospitable and there was nothing to do with any partnership … it’s
allowed to visit the Trump Tower so going there should
in no way be seen as a deal between the Trumps and the Angels.”
“There is really no story to
write…it’s allowed to visit the
Trump Tower.”
Danziger took over as CEO of Trump Hotels in 2015, just two
months after Trump announced his presidential run. Trump’s
declaration shortly before his inauguration that, while he would
still own his business empire, he would not have day-to-day control
and would not invest in any new foreign deals, complicated
Danziger’s job. By his account, the company had
to cancel 47 international deals.
The company has been working on developing two new lines of
hotels in the United States—Scion, an upscale chain less luxurious
than Trump-branded properties, and American Idea hotels, which
would compete with chains like Holiday Inn and Fairmont Inn.
Shortly after Trump’s election, a Turkish businessman said he would
be building the first Scion, using foreign cash. The deal was
eventually squashed—in part over the partner’s foreign ties, the
Trump Organization claimed—but the New York Times
reported that it was Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
who had pursued the partnership.
