The DC tourism stop for Trump haters and lovers alike: Trump International Hotel
For Washington visitors who dislike the president -- and for his most ardent fans -- no summertime trip to Washington is complete without a stop at the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, according to social media.
For those who oppose President Trump, there have been dozens of protests small and large since his inauguration. Those who missed the parade are dropping by now -- social media posts show visitors outside the hotel making crude gestures. Eleven such pictures posted to the hotel's Instagram location in just the past week.
- DC, Maryland announce they're suing Trump over foreign payments to his business
- Congressional Democrats suing Trump over foreign payments
But for fans of the president, the hotel lobby presents the best chance to see the celebrities of the Trump universe.
In what's become Washington's worst kept secret, if you step inside the hotel's crystal-adorned central atrium, you've got a pretty good chance of running into the cast of the world's most famous political reality show.
Here's the atrium:
Just last week, Kellyanne Conway dropped by.
And here's White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer in early May.
Apprentice alum-turned-White House aide Omarosa posted pictures of her wedding at the Trump Hotel as she made her way through the lobby.
A scan of Instagram posts from the Trump-owned hotel shows that one of the most frequent visitors from the Trump orbit is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who always seems ready for a selfie.
Also spotted in the pantheon of GOP celebrities -- former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
And former Senator and GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole.
And just a few days ago Senator Rand Paul dropped by.
Even the manager of the Trump Hotel, Mickael Damelincourt, has now attained sufficient celebrity status to be a a sought-after selfie for tourists.
Some really lucky Trump fans get to see actual Trump family members like Lara Trump in mid-May.
Or Eric Trump on a separate visit:
And Ivanka Trump, who's now a local.
But the top prize is seeing the president himself who greets his patrons and likely more than once unwittingly photobombed, with the first lady.
One excited hotel guest posted that they came to Washington hoping to see Mr. Trump but they struck out on the White House tour. So they tried to increase their chances of seeing him by staying at the Trump Hotel.
As luck would have it, they caught Mr. Trump during one of the three times he's gone to his hotel since the inauguration -- always to rounds of applause.
Trump tourists are probably even more likely to run into the Trump administration officials living at the Trump Hotel -- like his top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
