First it was up, then it was down and now it appears to be back again.
The saga of the ever-changing sign featuring Donald Trump at the Akoya site in Dubai continued this week when Damac appeared to have put the Trump branding back up.
Video footage showing the Akoya by Damac and Trump International Golf Club names again emblazoned across the entrance to the site in Dubailand filmed with a copy of Friday's edition of The National was received by the paper yesterday.
The National has also verified that the Trump signage is on display again at the site after it disappeared on Thursday. Also, a part of the huge billboard that featured Mr Trump and his daughter Ivanka, which was pulled down on Thursday, was replaced with another image.
On Thursday, The National reported that the sign, along with the billboard, had been taken down, prompting speculation that Damac could be considering dumping its golf course tie-up with the Trump Organization following Mr Trump's anti-Muslim remarks last week.
Initially the company said that it was sticking with its partnership with Mr Trump’s golf course business to operate a Trump International Golf Course at its Akoya by Damac project and that the tie up had nothing to do with Mr Trump’s political views.
"We cannot comment on anything related to Donald Trump," a Damac spokesman told The National yesterday.
Images of the removed sign came after Mr Trump controversially had called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US”.
Their return has prompted speculation that the signs could have been restored under a contractual obligation.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
