Once it was like a second White House for the Maga crowd. Now you risk becoming a white elephant.
Slaughtered first by the coronavirus pandemic and then by the defeat of its owner in the elections, the Trump International Hotel in Washington is suffering from a huge loss of income and prestige. For critics of the ex-president of the United States, it is welcome proof of how quickly the city is moving forward without him.
“It used to be the center of Trump World, but I can’t imagine who’s going there now,” he said. Sally Quinn, a local author and journalist. “We still don’t have any tourists in Washington. I can’t imagine most people there when they come. I don’t know anyone who goes or has gone there. “
The hotel opened amid protests in the historic Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue, between the White House and the U.S. Capitol building, in September 2016, while Trump campaigned for the presidency.
For four years, its opulent lobby was packed with diplomats, lobbyists and members of the Trump family. It was one of the few places in the US capital where “Make America Great again” hats were plentiful. But on a recent afternoon, it seemed more reminiscent of the haunted hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s film, The Shining.
Steel barriers surrounded the magnificent facade with its five US flags and the statue of the first postmaster general Benjamin Franklin. A black-cloaked porter explained that, due to coronavirus restrictions, only people invited by guests can enter. When the Guardian called reception, a man who identified himself as a manager said: “I prefer not to comment. Thanks for your call, ”then he hung up.
The Washington hotel had revenue of just $ 15.1 million last year, down more than 60% from the previous year. Then came Trump’s electoral defeat and impeachment for inciting a deadly insurrection a short distance from the United States Capitol on January 6, inflicting huge damage to his reputation.
On January 20, Trump boarded the Marine One helicopter to begin a new post-presidential life at his luxurious Florida Mar-a-Lago property, depriving the hotel of one of its biggest attractions. A week later, the New York Times reported that the lobby was practically empty and that waiters and staff outnumbered customers.
There was little mourning in Washington, where Joe Biden won 92% of the vote, compared to Trump’s 5%. In addition to official duties, the 45th president was rarely seen in the city, rarely visiting museums or theaters and having dinner at the Trump hotel itself.
Last month, the Washingtonian reported that table 72 at a round table at the hotel’s steakhouse was perpetually reserved for the president, should he decide to pay a visit in the heat of the moment. The magazine also said it obtained a “Standard Operating Procedure” document for the team to follow whenever Trump arrived.
“As soon as Trump sat down, the waiter had to ‘discreetly’ present a mini bottle of Purell hand sanitizer. (That applied long before Covid, you see.) ”, He reported. “Then, leave the dialogue: ‘Good (time of day), Mr President. Do you want your Diet Coke with or without ice? ‘the server was instructed to recite.
“A polished tray with cold bottles and tall glasses was already prepared for any of the responses. The instructions for pouring the soda were detailed in a process of no less than seven steps – and illustrated with four photo exposures. The drink had to be opened in front of the germophobic commander-in-chief, ‘never before’.
“The waiter should hold a long bottle opener by the lower third of the handle in one hand and Diet Coke, also by the lower third, in the other. After serving, the drink should be placed to the president’s right. ‘Repeat until POTUS comes out.’ “
Trump always ate the same meal: shrimp cocktail, steak well done with chips, sometimes with apple pie or chocolate cake for dessert, according to the Washingtonian. “The manual instructed the server to open mini glass bottles of Heinz ketchup in front of Trump, taking care to ensure that he could hear the label making the ‘pop’ sound.”
A tray with chips, chocolates, granola bars, Tic Tacs, gummy bears, Oreos, chocolate covered raisins and other snacks had to be at hand. The magazine added that Trump once demanded to know why his dinner companion received a bigger steak than he did, while First Lady Melania Trump once sent back a Dover sole because it was seasoned with parsley and chives.
The hotel and its steakhouse witnessed a cavalcade of Maga stars, from lawyer Rudy Giuliani to White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, from Florida congressman Matt Gaetz to MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell. Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and his wife, British actress Louise Linton, came to live there for a while.
Members of the Trump family were also featured, a draw for fans looking for selfies, and guests could indulge in “The Spa by Ivanka Trump”, including a “Himalayan salt chamber” and “gym with the latest equipment Technogym “- but temporarily closed due to Covid-19. The bar was a place to sit and watch several TV screens showing sports or Fox News.
In fact, it was a Trump embassy in this liberal city. Quinn noted, “He never went anywhere except the Trump hotel and most of his people didn’t, so it was like an occupation army. You didn’t see them and everyone kind of went on with their lives, but there was a terrible dark cloud over our heads.“
In 2019, Trump reportedly tried to sell the hotel for about $ 500 million, but those plans are now on hold. The hotel has nine floors and 263 rooms. A casual look at their website shows rooms available from $ 476 per night, suites from $ 1,122 per night and exclusive suites from $ 1,316 per night.
Kevin Chaffee, senior editor at Washington Life magazine, said: “The Trump hotel has been fighting for a long time, and without it being there, people don’t need to get favors by staying there. Some embassies had their events there and they don’t have to do that now. “
He added: “The bar was like the White House mess, but those people have no reason to meet and try to find out what’s going on at the scene because the man is gone. So it must be like a ghost town. “
The Trumps left few traces in Washington. The ex-president’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, vacated a mansion they rented in the Kalorama neighborhood while working as senior advisers at the White House.
Since then, the couple has moved into a luxury condominium in Miami, Florida. His former home was listed by real estate agents as still available for rent for $ 18,000 a month. It has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, spans 5,016 square feet and is just steps from the home of Barack and Michelle Obama.
Jack Shrestha, owner of Kalorama Guest House, which is a kilometer away, said: “The residents in my neighborhood where I live are 90% Democrats, so they are happy that Trump is gone. But I am a business owner. I don’t take sides. It doesn’t even matter to me.
“Ivanka’s son went to the school where my daughter went to school, a Jewish school in Cleveland Park. So, I used to watch her leave the child there. We didn’t talk much because they told us not to talk to her and take pictures or anything. “
Washington is full of memorials, monuments and statues of former presidents. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are already becoming visible. For now, however, Trump’s hotel ensures that his name remains written in gold letters on Pennsylvania Avenue, arguably America’s most famous street.
Quinn commented: “I suspect that whoever buys it will take all the gold and all the trimmings and turn it into something else that is nothing like Trump.”