Welcome to Trump Tower. Upstairs, the president-elect is planning his administration. Downstairs, it’s a full-on political carnival.
Since Donald Trump’s stunning presidential victory, the celebrity businessman has largely been ensconced in his penthouse home at his 664-foot glass tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. But as he works, the political circus that has accompanied his spectacular rise unfolds in the building’s marble-floored, gold-plated public lobby before crowds of journalists, supporters and wide-eyed gawkers.
Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway smiling for selfies with Trump fans. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani telling reporters the proper way to eat a New York slice. Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro posing for photos with a police dog on the sidewalk. Professional skateboarder Billy Rohan talking about spreading peace with skate parks. The Naked Cowboy strolling by.
One afternoon, a man came into the lobby, did a series of handsprings and shouted “Wu Tang!” before he was escorted out by security.
Trump spent the weekend at his home in Bedminster, New Jersey, and is headed to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for Thanksgiving. But since the election, most days have begun at 8 a.m. with the opening of Trump Tower, which is surrounded by a maze of metal barricades, security checkpoints and policy officers. Dozens of journalists file into the building, setting up cameras in a velvet-roped area across from the golden-doored elevators to stake out the transition. They document everyone from Vice President-elect Mike Pence to Trump’s adult children and possible appointees, shouting questions and snapping photos.
Sometimes the visitors send signals about whether they are being considered for top administration posts. Sometimes people come and chat with the press, as Conway does regularly. Sometimes the delivery of a stack of pizzas prompts discussion about what’s going on upstairs.
