The planned 91-story Trump International Hotel & Tower, Gold Coast was \u201cset to become the tallest building in Australia and one of the most prominent beachfront addresses in the country,\u201d the property group said in February.<\/a><\/p>\n An AI-generated image of the vision for Trump International Hotel & Tower, Gold Coast. Altus Property Group<\/p>\n Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, the initial project amassed backlash from the public, with an online petition<\/a>\u00a0launched to stop the development garnering more than 140,000 signatures. The petition claimed that \u201cmany residents are deeply uncomfortable with the Trump brand and what it represents.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Trump Organization told Australian Broadcasting Company that Young\u2019s company had failed to \u201cmeet the most basic financial obligation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n News: Wall Street Is Mixed After Another Discouraging Inflation Report<\/a><\/p>\n The property group\u2019s CEO told his side of the story in a post on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an ongoing project and behind the headlines there are facts and the major point is being in recent events the brand in this country has become toxic to Australians,\u201d Young wrote. \u201cNot my word in any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that\u00a0\u201cthe writing was on the wall when the war started.\u201d<\/p>\n He went on to object to the Trump Organization\u2019s \u201ctoxic\u201d image amongst Australians, stating that it\u2019s \u201cgrossly unfair as the brand has nothing to do\u201d with the president.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump Org is a non-political, free of the President run organization by Eric and Don Jr and run well with over 136 resorts and towers globally yet here in Australia both the media and certain orgs paint a picture of Donald Trump for pure sensationalism.\u201d<\/p>\n Eric Trump, left, and Donald Trump Jr. are executive vice presidents of the Trump Organization. KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI via Getty Images<\/p>\n The CEO then lashed out at opponents, name-checking the Australian progressive activist group Get Up, which he claimed doesn\u2019t \u201ccare as they are equally toxic, professional and paid for protesters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey say they have 120,000 signatures<\/a> to stop a project already approved with a DA,\u201d Young said. \u201cWould it surprise anyone to know that less than 10% of those signatures are from the Gold Coast?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n News: 2 Passengers Test Positive For Hantavirus As A Third Shows Symptoms After Cruise Ship Evacuation<\/a><\/p>\n Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he believes the plan fell through because of profit margins.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump Organization wants a lot more for their brand on the funding side of things, to operate it and the percentage of return,\u201d Tate told the outlet. \u201d[Meanwhile] the developer\u2019s going, \u2018Well, I\u2019m putting in all of my money in and you\u2019re actually going to take quite a lot of profit\u2019, so I think that\u2019s why they\u2019re parting ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Young told LinkedIn followers there is no \u201cacrimony\u201d between him and the Trump family.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would there be after knowing them for 19 years when no one here then even knew who Donald Trump was,\u201d Young wrote.<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_huffpost_us_657\/778897a26eef6cd9e838c31ce3591ec9.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Eric](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_huffpost_us_657\/98a4f7c36056e389c1f08ff276518ac0.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n