Trump opens latest hotel in shadow of controversy
A crowd of more than a hundred protesters gathered earlier today on Pennsylvania Avenue to criticize Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his controversial campaign and business practices, while inside he opened his new hotel.
While Trump touted his success in renovating a vacant federal building, according to Politico, activists from the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition led a gathering outside with the anti-war group Code Pink and representatives from the AFL-CIO labor organization.
Coalition organizer Eugene Puryear said such a diverse gathering was a sign of Trump’s intense unpopularity.
“We’ve really got a broad-based effort today that is uniting a lot of people across different lines. I think this is indicative of Donald Trump being offensive and upsetting to a wide range of people,” Puryear said.
For other demonstrators, there was little difference between Trump and his Democratic rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“The problem with Trump and Hillary is that they both represent the billionaire class. We’ve got a choice between the Trump brand and the Goldman Sachs brand. I’m voting for Jill Stein,” Washington, D.C., resident Bill Murray said of the Green Party candidate.
After leaving the State Department in 2013, Hillary Clinton gave a series of paid speeches to representatives of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Made public in recently leaked emails from WikiLeaks, the transcripts have caused controversy for suggesting Clinton has different positions than those she voices publicly, according to The Intercept.
Trump supporters were present, but were outnumbered by the sign-carrying protesters outside the hotel. A few supporting the Republican candidate said those on the other side as just as passionate about the problems America faces.
“We’re all interested in issues, I think we just approach it from different ways,” North Carolina resident and Trump supporter Barbra Thompson said.
In contrast to her colleague, coalition member Yasmina Mrabet urged attendees to not vote for Hillary Clinton as an alternative to Trump.
“I don’t believe in furthering the myth of the lesser of two evils, its one snake with two heads,” Mrabet said.