Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort gains visas for 70 foreign workers

'It’s very, very hard to get' US workers, says 'America First' President

Mr Trump has pushed an 'America First' agenda (EPA)

Donald Trump has reportedly been granted permission to hire 70 foreign workers for his Mar-a-Lago resort over the winter.

The “America First” President has upped his tally of overseas staff at the club from 64 last year, according to the Palm Beach Post.

The paper reported a Florida job placement agency as saying it had more than 5,000 American workers ready for employment in the hospitality sector.

Mr Trump has previously stated his intention to “stand up for our companies and maybe most importantly for our workers”, adding that “ it’s time for a new policy, one defined by two simple rules – we will buy American and we will hire American”.

Challenged by Senator Marco Rubio last year over his hiring practices, Mr Trump said: “It’s very, very hard to get people. Other hotels do the exact same thing.”

Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka, a White House adviser, has also been criticised for manufacturing her fashion products abroad, given her father’s emphasis on “America First”.

The President’s own businesses were again under scrutiny this weekend as he visited Hawaii on the first leg of a tour of the Asia-Pacific region.

Experts accused his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, of an “ethics violation” after she appeared to promote the Trump International Hotel Waikiki during an official briefing.

Asked why the President had stopped off there before leaving the state, she said: “It has been a tremendously successful project and he wanted to say hello and thank you to the employees for all their hard work.”

Norm Eisen, White House ethics czar under Mr Obama, tweeted: “ETHICS VIOLATION by @PressSec: under 5 CFR § 2635.702, can’t promote Trump’s businesses--same violation as @KellyannePolls committed.”

He was referencing a similar misstep by Kellyanne Conway, Mr Trump’s adviser, when in February this year she promoted Ivanka Trump’s fashion products live on Fox News – from inside the White House press briefing room.