Slate: “The reckoning that Trump’s D.C. hotel faces in Joe Biden’s Washington isn’t just the result of the previous administration’s bungled response to a raging pandemic followed by an election loss and attempt to subvert democracy. And it’s not just because the broader hospitality industry is still struggling as Americans travel less during lockdown. After all, without any of those factors, Trump previously steered six hotels into bankruptcies.”
“The Trump Hotel D.C. also enjoys a business plan that befuddles industry experts, a $170 million mortgage that’s coming due, the scrutiny of continuing investigations, and a new landlord who – for a change – does not double as the hotel’s owner. While it’s unlikely the federal government will evict the Trump Organization, the ex-president’s company doesn’t seem happy to hang around either. It tried to unload its lease in 2019 and couldn’t find someone to meet its asking price. So like a boot left abandoned in the gooey muck of swamp bottom, the Trump International Hotel is sticking around D.C. It’s a fitting monument to the former president, his cult of personality, and the culture of graft that defined his Washington.”