The decorative clock bearing the name of America's incoming 45th president has yet to start at the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai, but the developers behind the project already are counting the money they've made. The 18-hole course is likely to be the first Trump-connected property to open after his Jan. 20 inauguration as president, joining his organization's projects stretching from Bali to Panama. It also encapsulates the host of worries of possible conflicts of interest circulating around a president who is very different from America's past leaders. While the Oval Office has always been home to the wealthy, Donald Trump represents the first franchise president. Could foreign governments pressure or please Trump through his international businesses? Should projects bearing his name receive additional security? And how close should his ties remain to business executives operating in areas with far different opinions about human rights and justice? "There has never been anything remotely like this — not even close," said Robert W. Gordon, a legal historian and ethics expert who teaches at Stanford University. "Trump himself tends to treat his businesses and his public policy as sort of extensions of himself. He seems to be completely unembarrassed about scrambling up and conflating his business enterprise and the actions and policies of the U.S. government." The Trump International Golf Club in Dubai — the sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates home to a futuristic skyline crowned by the world's tallest building — is due to open in February and be managed by Trump Organization employees. The course sits along a road that begins near the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab luxury hotel and passes by a mall with its own artificial ski slope. The luxury continues onto the par-71 Trump course, designed by American golf architect Gil Hanse, where wrinkled fairways lead to putting greens made smooth with silica sand brushed in between micro-blades of grass. It is set inside Akoya, a massive housing development of 2,600 villas and 7,000 apartments developed by Dubai-based luxury real estate DAMAC Properties. Another Trump-managed golf course is planned for another even larger DAMAC project under development further down the road. Billionaire Hussain Sajwani, who founded DAMAC Properties in 2002, met Trump some 10 years ago and the two men hit it off over their real estate experiences, said Niall McLoughlin, a senior vice president for communications and marketing at the firm. "When we approached them in 2013 about the golf course, he of course knew who DAMAC was," McLoughlin told The Associated Press on a recent trip to the golf course. "They subsequently cemented the family relationship as well. ... A lot of our dealings have been with Eric, a lot of our dealings have been with Ivanka. They have traveled here — and Donald Jr." Sajwani and his family also attended a New Year's Eve party at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, with the incoming president describing them from on stage as "the most beautiful people from Dubai." Trump received between $1 million to $5 million from DAMAC, according to a Federal Election Committee report submitted in May. It's unclear how much the contract will be worth once the golf course opens and starts operating. McLoughlin declined to offer specific figures. It is the first Trump venture in the Arab world. His first proposed project in Dubai, a 62-story tower with state-backed developer Nakheel, became a victim of the sheikhdom's 2009 financial crisis. By 2014, Trump knocked a golf ball down the fairway of what would become the golf course at Akoya. Sajwani called Trump a "great man" during the tour, and DAMAC later designed some 100 Trump-branded villas at the property, selling from 5 million dirhams ($1.3 million) to over 15 million dirhams ($4 million). With Trump set to be sworn in as president, security analysts have suggested properties bearing his name could be targets. His campaign pledge calling for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the U.S., followed by his proposal to conduct "extreme vetting" of immigrants, also sparked regional anger . The Trump logos on the golf course even came down for a short time . Still, the United Arab Emirates, a staunch U.S. ally in the war against the Islamic State group and host to some 5,000 American military personnel, remains a peaceful corner of the Middle East. "Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world," McLoughlin said. "Dubai has proved itself to be safe. We have no extra concerns about this golf course." Dubai police did not respond to a request for comment about security at the property. Financial matters raise other questions. DAMAC, a private company, purchased the property for Akoya from Dubai's government in 2012 for around $350 million. Dubai's government ultimately answers to the emirate's heredi
