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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2016 22:44:56 GMT -5
abcnews.go.com/Politics/melania-barron-trump-spend-time-york/story?id=43670830I've heard rumors they may just stay there for good -- and that Trump plans to spend a lot of his time in his gold-plated NYC pied-a-terre as well. FYI, that means Secret Service in both places, and some seriously fucked up traffic problems in the heart of midtown Manhattan. I've heard, too, that it will cost taxpayers about $1 million a day for Trump to keep up that second presidential establishment. I'll also note that Amy Carter, Chelsea Clinton, and the Obama girls were in school when their dads went into the White House, and they packed up their little duds and went with papa president. They turned out just fine. It's just possible I'm giving away how I feel about this. Anyway, I can't believe Vince hasn't started a poll about this, but since he hasn't, I will.
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tanstaafl
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Post by tanstaafl on Nov 22, 2016 23:17:58 GMT -5
They can live wherever they want, as long as the taxpayers aren't paying for it.There is a protection detail assigned to each individual. Many times the president, his wife and children are all in different places. Even the president is not legally required to live there, but there are many reasons for doing so.
Besides, the Obamas are doing the same thing. They are staying in Washington till their youngest finishes school, then they will decide where they will live. The trump mother and son are staying in NY, at least till he finishes school.
I fail to see the difference.
If Trump was staying in NY with his family, that might be something to talk about.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2016 23:29:45 GMT -5
The difference is that (a) Obama won't be president anymore, so it's no longer the nation's business where he lives, and (b) even if they were still the first family, the Obamas are all staying together, no? rather than keeping up two different establishments?
Also, won't it be a bit of a distraction for the President, if, in addition to his many duties as President, he's flying up to NYC to see his family every weekend, as I understand he plans to do?
And as a NYC resident -- Christ, I dread it when Presidents come through just on a visit. Traffic is a nightmare. It's a mess. We're a wee little island with millions of people all packed together and just a few bridges and tunnels leading off. I didn't want the Olympics here, I don't want political conventions here, and I don't want Trump and his entourage coming in and out of the city on a weekly basis, while Melania and Barron lock up Fifth Avenue on a full time basis for their snarl of security. It's enough of a nightmare there already. And we're enough of a terrorist target here already without the First Family permanently fixed here smack in the middle of midtown.
It's not even just about the money -- it's a security and logistical nightmare for this city. We're just too packed in and Trump Tower is just not set up for this. Jeez, I can't even imagine what it would mean for the businesses in Trump Tower. Surely they aren't going to just let random people wander in and out to shop with Melania and Barron in the penthouse?
We have a White House for the First Family, set up for this sort of thing. Other First Children have switched schools. Lots of other kids do, too. It's not all that damn traumatic.
(Yeah, I do kinda have an opinion on this, as you all might have noticed.)
ETA:
Hell, I switched schools when I was a kid, and the only thing that happened to me is I turned into a raging ranting bitch. Is that so bad?
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tanstaafl
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Post by tanstaafl on Nov 22, 2016 23:38:27 GMT -5
I see your point. I have no idea about motorcades, etc, and I do see that would be a factor. I still think the kid should be able to finish where he is now.
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Post by haggis on Nov 23, 2016 0:11:24 GMT -5
ETA: Hell, I switched schools when I was a kid, and the only thing that happened to me is I turned into a raging ranting bitch. Is that so bad? Yes. Yes it is. Frankly I don't give a damn how much it costs to protect the first family. It's an obligation we have. Even if that first family happens to suck. Which it will. And they should rethink their schooling plans. But we cannot put the children of the president at risk because that opens up the possibility of kidnapping and the attendant threats. And for the record, I feel really, really bad for Barron. Yeah, I know he has his own lion to sit on, but my god what a sad family he has to deal with as a ten year old.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2016 0:15:15 GMT -5
I suppose my perspective is shaped by the fact I live here, and see the mess the situation already created. If the Trump's lived in, say, Westchester, they'd be easier to protect and wouldn't create such a mess. But as it stands, it will create quite a nightmare for our city.
Also the school, which I don't imagine anticipated this situation.
Then, too, I suppose I just don't consider switching schools to be do traumatic that it...er...trumps all the other considerations. Lots of kids do it. If I were little Barron, I'd be kind of excited about living in the white House.
I'm also wondering how he's going to manage playing with his friends. The White House has large protected grounds, and in general there's more space and it's easier to provide protection. Here, this kid will have to be closely surrounded by an army all the time.
I dunno.i think the kid would have a better, safer life in DC, given the circumstances.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2016 0:21:10 GMT -5
And yeah, I feel bad for Barron, too. That's some circus he's growing up in.
ETA:
I must add this -- normally speaking, I would think it would be more disruptive and traumatic for a child to be separated from his father than from his school, all other things being equal.
of course, they might not be equal.
A couple of my wealthier friends with non-working wives split up for the summer -- daddy stays in the city, mommy lives with the kiddies in the country house, and if and when daddy can, he comes up for an occasional weekend. The idea is that the kids are better off in a big house with a yard and no dad than they are in a generously sized palatial NYC apartment near Central park with a dad. And mom apparently does not require her husband's companionship. I spend more time hanging out with their husbands in the summer than they do. Maybe it's me, but I struggle with the urge to tell them I think this seems pretty messed up to me. (I don't, of course, because it's none of my business, and it works for them, great. I guess.)
Me, I'd want my husband at the dinner table and in my bed where he belongs, and playing ball with the kids in that giant park nearby. But then, I'm not married.
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Post by Don on Nov 23, 2016 2:41:51 GMT -5
You left off an option.
"The White House and Congress should move permanently to Wall Street, so as to be as close as possible to their real constituency."
Wall Street wants the power but not the inconvenience? Too bad. So Sad.
Hey, and it sucks that you're collateral damage, but maybe that term will gain a new meaning, and with it, a new life under the Trump regime.
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Post by Vince524 on Nov 23, 2016 7:25:31 GMT -5
With the exception of any extra $, I have a hard time getting upset over this. I do feel the kid is going to be used as a political bat against Trump. Different rules apply to Trump family than Obama family, as was evidenced by that comics skit on Melania.
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Post by robeiae on Nov 23, 2016 7:35:48 GMT -5
I think I would prefer that the First Family live as such in the official residence of the same. That would be in DC, obviously. But at the end of the day, I'm not twisted up about this. And if Trump does a lot of back and forth, that means less time spent in front of cameras or with world leaders. That's got to be a good thing, right? Between travel time and golf, maybe we can zero out his entire schedule... Beyond that, on the cost front, I've become skeptical and/or jaded about a lot of these claims about how much x, y, or z has cost the taxpayers. Though for those inclined to wonder about such thngs, Judicial Watch religiously tracks the Obama admin's travel expenses via FOIAs: www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-obama-travel-cost-taxpayers-79-5-million/
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2016 8:38:46 GMT -5
I also must note -- that giant hideous skyscraper they live in doesn't just contain Melania and Barron. It contains a whole bunch of ordinary citizens' apartments and businesses, who didn't buy in to having an extended security madness lockdown when they bought their places. Imagine living in an apartment building that had the president's family living on the top floor. I imagine they won't be able to come and go very freely, and they can forget about throwing a party. And forget about selling their places while the First Family is there.
Have y'all ever seen NYC when a president merely visits to attend a fundraiser? They lock down a whole neighborhood. All traffic is routed around it. and keep in mind the traffic situation is bad enough already. It sucks for everyone in it and around it -- but at least it's just for a day or two. (I've had to show police ID to get past a blockade onto my own street and get home.) This will be midtown Fifth Avenue, for months or even years, if rumor is correct. We're not set up for that, nor can we realistically be set up for that. It will be a damn zoo, and it will affect millions of us.
And, OMG, forget the traffic lockdown when a president visits. It can take hours to get in and out of the city. They close shit. Again, too many people, no damn room for this kind of thing long term. What, every Friday and Sunday night he and his entourage will lock up the corridor between JFK and the city? The businesses in Trump Place and the block or ten around that part of Fifth Avenue can just shut down?
In another place it might not be so ridiculous. In NYC, it's insanity.
This is why we have a presidential residence. Y'all might not be shrugging if you lived here.
ETA:
heh. and to add insult to injury, NYC, especially Manhattan, voted overwhelmingly against Trump. Wall Street might be booming now tgat tge uncertainty has lifted -- but trust me, I know a butt load of bankers and Clinton was the one they wanted. Y'all in the red states can take the dude. You've got a lot more room for his security detail, too.
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Post by Vince524 on Nov 23, 2016 8:54:51 GMT -5
I used to live in Brooklyn and work in Manhattan, right near 1PP, so I am aware of the madness. It happened plenty of times when Bill Clinton came to town to pillage. It does suck.
All I can say is, better you than me.
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Post by robeiae on Nov 23, 2016 9:01:06 GMT -5
Our national motto...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2016 9:13:44 GMT -5
I think when you run for president, you're gaining a lot of power, but it comes with some pretty clear strings. A big one is that your private life is going to change yuuugely. I fail to see why one little ten-year old boy's pweshus wittle school situation gets to lock down a city of 8-9 million people for months or years -- we've had other First Children and he can bloody well do as they did. I don't hear Amy and Chelsea and Malia and Sasha wailing about how traumatic it was -- to the contrary, they seem like they did just fine. The White House and DC is set up for it.
Seriously, I'm kind of disgusted by this. So is everyone I know here. With one collective voice (a really cool demonic one), we're howling "GET OUT!"
ETA:
GAAH!!!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2016 9:42:46 GMT -5
if Trump does a lot of back and forth, that means less time spent in front of cameras or with world leaders. That's got to be a good thing, right? Between travel time and golf, maybe we can zero out his entire schedule... This right here, though, is a good point. Tell ya what. Let's move him out near the golf course. We can build him a nice gold-plated mansion out there. It would be cheaper than protecting him in Manhattan.
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