Michael Cohen tweeted that his multiple meetings with the Manhattan district

The Guardian

Trump’s Washington hotel echoes to silence of missing Maga crowd

Once the hub of Trump World in the US capital, with the former president gone it is in danger of becoming a white elephant The Trump International Hotel: ‘ I don’t know anybody who goes there or has gone there,’ said one local author and journalist. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP Once it was like a second White House for the Maga crowd. Now it is in danger of becoming a white elephant. Clobbered first by the coronavirus pandemic, then by its owner’s election defeat, the Trump International Hotel in Washington is reeling from a huge loss of income and prestige. For critics of the former US president, it is welcome proof of how quickly the city is moving on without him. “It used to be the hub of Trump World but I can’t imagine who goes there now,” said Sally Quinn, a local author and journalist. “We don’t even have tourists yet in Washington. I can’t imagine most people staying there when they come. I don’t know anybody who goes there or has gone there.” The hotel opened amid protests in the historic Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue, between the White House and US Capitol building, in September 2016 as Trump campaigned for the presidency. For four years its opulent lobby thronged with diplomats, lobbyists and Trump family members. It was one of the few places in the US capital where “Make America great again” hats were bountiful. But one 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 statue of first postmaster general Benjamin Franklin. A black-coated porter explained that, due to coronavirus restrictions, only people invited by guests are allowed in. When the Guardian called the front desk, a man who identified himself as the manager said, “I’d rather not comment. Thank you for your call,” then hung up. Danish Rozario, left, wheels a guest’s baggage down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Trump Hotel in Washington on 15 January 2021. Joe Biden’s inauguration five days later marked an ominous moment for the hotel’s fortunes. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP The hotel in Washington made just $15.1m in revenue last year, a drop of more than 60% from the year before. Then came Trump’s election loss and impeachment for inciting a deadly insurrection a short distance away at the US Capitol on 6 January, inflicting huge reputational damage. On 20 January, Trump boarded the Marine One helicopter to start a new post-presidential life at his luxury Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, depriving the hotel of one of its biggest draws. A week later, the New York Times reported that the lobby was largely vacant and the waiters and staff members outnumbered the customers. There was little mourning in Washington itself, where Joe Biden secured 92% of the vote compared with Trump’s 5%. Beyond official duties, the 45th president was rarely seen around the city, hardly ever visiting museums or theatres and only ever dining out at the Trump hotel itself. Last month the Washingtonian reported that table 72 in a round booth at the hotel’s steakhouse was perpetually reserved for the president in case he decided to visit on the spur of the moment. The magazine also said it obtained a “Standard Operating Procedure” document for staff to follow whenever Trump arrived. “As soon as Trump was seated, the server had to ‘discreetly present’ a mini bottle of Purell hand sanitizer. (This applied long before Covid, mind you.),” it reported. “Next, cue dialogue: ‘Good (time of day) Mr President. Would you like your Diet Coke with or without ice?’ the server was instructed to recite. “A polished tray with chilled bottles and highball glasses was already prepared for either response. Directions for pouring the soda were detailed in a process no fewer than seven steps long – and illustrated with four photo exhibits. The beverage had to be opened in front of the germophobe commander in chief, ‘never beforehand’. Donald Trump, then a presidential candidate, walks into the atrium of his new hotel on 16 September 2016, with his future national security adviser Michael Flynn. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters “The server was to hold a longneck-bottle opener by the lower third of the handle in one hand and the Diet Coke, also by the lower third, in the other. Once poured, the drink had to be placed at the President’s right-hand side. ‘Repeat until POTUS departs.’” Trump always ate the same meal: shrimp cocktail, well-done steak and fries, 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 he could hear the seal make the ‘pop’ sound.” A tray of crisps, chocolates, granola bars, Tic Tacs, gummy bears,…