Trump's Pittsburgh visit blurs ethical boundaries, critics say

"When there's a campaign event and an official event on the same trip, the White House is supposed to allocate the costs," said Brendan Fischer, director of federal reform at the Campaign Legal Center. "The challenge with this president is that he is known to go off script and talk about whatever is on his mind, and so what starts as an official event can become a campaign event." Fischer allows that "I don't recall specific guidelines or magic words" that transubstantiate an event from one category to another. After all, for a president to defend his actions, or argue on behalf of the direction he is taking the country, can be a matter both of politics and policy.

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