Even the Trump Organization Doesnt Want to Be Associated With Trump – Vanity Fair

As anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Donald Trumps business history knows, the real estate developer made the bulk of his money licensing his name to businesses he does not own, slapping it on everything from hotels to condos to cologne in the biggest, most garish letters possible. Truly no product was too small or ridiculous for Trump to emblazon, whether it was a fake university, a line of vodka, or steaks sold through the Sharper Image catalog. And while his name never connoted the luxury and class he thought it did, after he kicked off his bid for the presidency in 2015, it suddenly evoked racism, debatable mental stability, and questionable moral conduct, leading a number of hotels and condos around the world to try to remove it from their buildings, both out of disgust and a genuine belief that it was costing them money. Where licensing deals had lapsed, there was nothing the Trump Organization could do about such decisions. But where they remained in place, the presidents family business, run by his two adult sons, fought the tenants and investors tooth and nail. Which makes the news that the Trump Organization has chosen to hide the Trump name from one of its marquee properties all the more humiliating.

The Washington Post reports that at the Wollman Rink and Laser Rink in Central Park, which Trump has run since the 1980s, Trump Organization employees have been removing the five-letter name from sight, taking it off the boards around each rink where giant red TRUMP signs once surrounded customers and off of the desk where visitors rent skates, now covered in a large white tarp until it can be permanently taken away. Its a complete rebranding, Geoffrey Croft, of NYC Park Advocates, told the Post. Theyve taken [the name] off everything. Off the uniforms, everything. (The Trump Organization did not respond to the Posts request for comment.)

And while some might assume that the citywhere the president is deeply unpopularwas behind the move, a spokeswoman said it was the companys decision. The Trump Organization notified us in late August that they planned to change the on-rink branding, said Crystal Howard, a spokeswoman for the city parks department. While Howard said the Trump Organization did not explain its decision, an employee who spoke to the Post hazarded a guess: Even the presidents business knows hes bad for business. I do believe thats the answer. It was hurting business, the employee said. A lot of the schools, you know, liberal private schools up here, come to parties up here. That was a big income earner up here Monday and Tuesday night. (In early 2017, a skating party for students from the Dalton School was canceled after some parents refused to let their children go to a rink with Trumps name on it.)

And in other not-great news for noted narcissists:

Support for the impeachment inquiry into President Trump has reached a new high, a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found. Pollsters discovered that 55% of respondents approved of the inquiry, while 43% opposed it. Last week 51% supported it while 45% did not.... Almost half of all respondents48%backed impeachment and removal of Trump, up 2 percentage points from last week. Forty-six percent said they are now against impeaching and removing him.

Earlier this month the president bragged that only 25% of Americans wanted him impeached, so hell have to update his models.

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Even the Trump Organization Doesnt Want to Be Associated With Trump - Vanity Fair