Trump Tower security challenge
I call the president-elect’s Trump Tower residence the Gold House.
And it’s quite the security challenge:
Other presidents have used retreats ”” the compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, or the ranch in Crawford, Texas, for the Bushes ”” but they were in easily protected locations.
Trump Tower, on the other hand, has hundreds of tenants in 263 apartments, according to its website. That’s on top of 26 floors of offices and a five-story public atrium with stores ranging from Starbucks to Gucci.
…SWAT teams, barricades and sand-filled trucks are already fixtures ”” along with protesters. The sky above it is a no-fly zone until the inauguration at least…
Law enforcement agencies are meeting this week to discuss plans for securing the skyscraper going forward. Possible scenarios include closing lanes on Fifth Avenue, home to Tiffany’s and other world-famous retailers, NBC New York reported.
New Yorkers can also expect to see restrictions on the side streets, bomb-sniffing dogs on the sidewalks and security booths popping up around the building…
Now, some of you may ask “who cares about New York?” Well, I do, for one. The Secret Service says it will meet the challenge, and I certainly hope that’s true. I also think that presidents should be allowed to retreat to their own homes at times, and this happens to be where Trump lives. But it’s just one interesting and mostly-unforeseen side effect of this whole crazy election that we have a president who lives in a place that is, shall we say, atypical and unusually difficult to protect.
I wonder how much time he actually will spend in each place.
The Trump mansion-apartment occupies three floors of the tower, and the scale of the thing and its Louis XIV style are unlikely to reassure those who fear an imperial presidency. Nor is the style one I particularly favor. But he’s not asking me, and I think the style is just Trump being the Trump he’s always been. I’m far more interested in Trump as president, which is uncharted waters. But so far I’ve approved of the majority of the things he’s actually done since winning the election (granted, it’s early).
Go here to see many photos of the inside of the Trump family’s living space. Here’s a sample:
Those who worry that Trump will put his signature over-the-top decorative stamp on the White House should be reassured by this, however:
[Trump] said he would not seek to leave his mark on a building which was designed by the Irish architect James Hoban in the 1790s and rebuilt after being burnt to the ground by the British in 1814.
The president-elect made his pledge on OBJECTified Donald Trump, a one hour documentary on Fox News…
“The White House is a special place, nothing will change at the White House,” Mr Trump said.
I assume he doesn’t literally mean “nothing,” since new presidents have traditionally made changes in the decoration of the living quarters portion of the White House.
Speaking as one who knows, this is the style Bob Guccione of Penthouse would have favored if he had a lot more money than he had.
Baroque or rococo? It certainly is grand.
Rooms that big decorated in that or similar styles make me think of hotel lobbies, not a place I’d like to live.
Trump Tower is actually a very difficult target for any assassin.
With three floors to work through, one would need a combat regiment to take the place.
That and a week to carry off the assault.
Trump is obviously going to come and go via helicopter off of the roof as I expect a helipad will be installed for the President-elect in PDQ time. The Secret Service is going to demand it.
In military jargon, the tower is a ‘keep.’
And from the New York Post, Ivanka and Baron Trump aren’t going to leave Trump Tower because Baron is in too special a private school. So much for public service? ‘Splain that one, Bert? A Keep indeed; kings and nobility had castles with “keeps.” Spin spin spin and he isn’t even inaugurated yet.
Blert:
And about that “keep” when a high rise building is on fire helicopters can’t land on the roof to whisk people away to safety. Or have you forgotten 9/11/01?
I heard they might employ Alec Baldwin as a body double/ decoy so that no one can be sure where the president is at all times. Heh heh heh!
A helicopter is not a secure escape route. Apache gunships have been shot down by AK-47 fire in Iraq and Afghanistan. One thing the ranch and bunker had in common were secure airstrips that Air Force One could take off from and land on. Putting a fleeing President on a vehicle that doesn’t even require an AA battery to take down would just make it even easier for the Lee Harvey Oswalds of the world.
One million dollars a day for the Trump family security in NY City. Not quite what NY City values really mean, or really wanted? But yuge nonetheless?
Americans think their fate has changed. Perhaps it has been delayed, assuming Trum makes it to DC alive. An assumption which some of us aren’t willing to make. Another Hope and Change, yes.