In 2019, my (then) gf and I visited DC, as we had a white house tour scheduled..if I recall correctly the date was January 5th. The first day in D.C., after the WH tour, lunch at the Old Ebbit (where Nikki Haley sat at the next table from us, beside my gf on the bench seating against the wall), we went to the Trump hotel in the old post office building for an evening cocktail. Security was tight, with secret service everywhere. We were treated like royalty, though we're just ordinary people with no names to drop. Every day of our stay, we went back for either beverages, appetizers, or lunch, because it is such a cool place and we wanted to treat ourselves nicely.
On our final morning, we had to check out of our room in Virginia by eleven, but our flight home wasn't until about 2pm. We decided to return to the Trump hotel for breakfast and mimosas. When we arrived by uber with our luggage, the secret service and bellhops politely took our bags. This was probably to scan and ETD test them. We mentioned we were merely there for breakfast before our flight and they politely volun-told us that we could leave our bags with them.
After a wonderful breakfast with outstanding service, we went to leave after a quick bathroom break.
My gf returned to the front door a minute or so before me and was talking with what appeared to be a man related to hotel security. She was asked how we were getting to Reagan National, to which she replied that we were going to get a cab, or uber. All this was just as I was walking up to their conversation. The man turned to me and addressed me by my last name. I had not given anyone my last name, or even my first name and isn't on my luggage tag. As a side note, when our luggage was returned, each bag was tagged with “TRUMP #####”, with each bag having the same five or six digit number afterward. I suppose this was a secret service tracking system for cleared bags.
In reply to my gf’s comment about uber, the man turned to me and said; “Mr [Johnson], we have enjoyed having you as our guests this past week. Please allow us to take you to the airport”
I replied with gratitude reassuring him that this wasn't necessary, but if there was a hotel shuttle already departing for the airport, we would graciously accept a ride.
“Mr [Johnson], one of our limo drivers will gladly take you”
I was in shock and before I could reply, he waved over a waiting black suburban, with blacked out windows. Another side note, as soon as the driver closed the door, I realized that the glass was bullet proof. Unbelievable! I thanked the security detail man and offered a $20 tip which he politely refused, pushing my hand back, thanking us again for being their guest the past week and wishing us a safe flight home.
When we pulled up at the airport to be dropped off, the police officer directing traffic held up our suburban for a couple of minutes, while he stopped ALL traffic behind us and angrily cleared out ALL vehicles in front of us. When we finally pulled to the curb there was not one vehicle allowed 75-100 feet to the front or rear bumpers of our suburban, until the driver unloaded the bags and we finally entered the terminal. The driver did accept a $50 tip with reluctance and grace, also thanking us for being their guests that week and wishing us safe travel.
What an experience.
When at the Trump hotel, we never openly gave our names, or interacted with anyone except the staff in the main lounge and restaurants. The only time my name would've been known was upon paying with my credit card for our meals and beverages. Despite this, they knew how long we'd been coming and going, knew we weren't staying there and even knew our names.
Just a couple of working slobs treated like dignitaries.
On an outside note, we were cleared for the VIP white house tour with secret service escort, where we would have been shown the Oval office and the chance to sit at the Resolute Desk. Woo would ever be so uncouth to sit in that desk as a tourist? Not us. This opportunity was made available because of my contacts locally will arranged that tour. At the last minute, before flying to D.C., I received a call from my contact saying that for reasons he could not disclose, the VIP tour had to be canceled. Soon, it was easy to figure out why. The President was back in the Oval office that day, returning from the holidays with his family at Mar a Lago. It is possible that my background check for the WH tour, my job at that time and security clearance, was shared through the secret service network, cell tracking, facial recognition, or whatever, but we were just ordinary people, sightseeing.
What an experience!
I would ABSOLUTELY love to return to the Trump hotel again.
Wow... what a story! That must have been a thrill.
In the fall of 2016, when Trump was running the first time, my wife and I had a day to spend in NYC after a cruise. We went to Trump Tower and I videoed the two of us riding down the golden escalator where Trump so famously launched his campaign.
We sat down and had a drink at the small lobby bar. It was so much fun. EVERYONE we met there was so friendly. It was clear they all LOVED the Trump family.
We didn’t get your kind of treatment, but we still had a great time!