Donald Trump’s sudden return to New York City is incredibly suspicious
After having spent much of the transition period at his primary home in Trump Tower in New York City, Donald Trump has since spent his entire time in office avoiding it like the plague. There have been numerous possible explanations for why he’s been avoiding his own home, even while visiting so many of his other properties. But now he’s suddenly returning to New York under circumstances and timing whose suspicious nature are off the charts.
Some have asked if Trump has been avoiding Trump Tower because, as he claimed in a tweet shortly taking office, he honestly believes the absurd notion that President Obama had the building wiretapped. Others have suggested that, as his wife Melania was still living in Trump Tower for his first several months in office, she may have told him he was unwelcome there. Even in the one instance where he attended a ceremonial event in New York City this spring, he still made a point of spending the night in New Jersey instead.
But today Trump tweeted “Working hard from New Jersey while White House goes through long planned renovation. Going to New York next week for more meetings” (link). This stands out as suspicious for a number of reasons. For one thing, when his seventeen day golf vacation in New Jersey was announced, no mention was made of any side trip to New York. So these “meetings” are either unscheduled, or they’re secret, or both. Trump appears to have only blabbed about them today in frustrated response to widespread criticism of his do-nothing vacation. But there’s another, Russia-related reason to be wary about his sudden dash to New York.
When a Russian oligarch’s private plane landed in Newark on Friday within hours of Donald Trump’s own flight, we pointed out that it wasn’t a given that the oligarch’s final destination was New Jersey, because the Newark Airport also serves as a tertiary airport for New York City (link). At the time, we meant it as a caveat. But now that Trump is suddenly making a side trip to New York City for unknown “meetings,” it’s worth watching to see if that oligarch might pop up in city as well.
