These could be the new Trump hangouts in D.C.
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The Waldorf Astoria (former Trump hotel). Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Every administration has its hangouts, but Trumpers created two clubhouses: The glitzy BLT Steak at the Trump Hotel — the only place in Washington its owner ever dined beyond the White House — and nearby watering hole Harry's Bar, a Proud Boy favorite.
Why it matters: Both are closed, leaving us to wonder where the glad-handing and dealmaking would happen in D.C. under a second Trump term.
The big picture: Nothing will rival the Trump Hotel, where on any given day you could spot Cabinet members, GOP power players, foreign officials, Trump's family, the "MyPillow Guy," and/or the president himself posted up at his favorite table.
- "For any Trump reporter looking for sources or an interesting conversation, it was like shooting fish in a barrel," as Politico national political correspondent Meridith McGraw puts it.
Follow the money: Former President Trump's a meat-and-potatoes guy, and Downtown D.C. steakhouses pop up on FEC campaign spending reports for vice presidential hopefuls. Sen. Tim Scott's circle has sometimes dined days in a row at Capital Grille.
- J.D. Vance's campaign has spent thousands on catering from Brazilian chain Fogo de Chao.
The Willard hotel is prime for a Trump takeover given it hosted Trump's "war room" before Jan. 6.
- For Trump followers who fancy more than a well-done steak, Le Diplomate's Stephen Starr is opening a glam American restaurant there.
Counterpoint: There's no love lost between Trump and D.C., which he recently called a "filthy and crime-ridden embarrassment to our nation." And so, some speculate the next generation of Trump staff will gravitate toward Alexandria and the surrounding Virginia 'burbs, home to Vance, Paul Manafort, and other right-wing heavies.
- "A lot of the Trump staffers who were in the first administration, who lived in Navy Yard and went out to Mission, are growing up and moving out," says Politico White House and Washington reporter Daniel Lippman, who closely followed Trumpie folkways. "A bunch were having trouble getting dates in D.C., so they ended up dating and marrying each other."
What we're hearing: GOP insiders hang out at members-only CXIII REX in Old Town, a hybrid cigar lounge and networking club touting a walk-in humidor filled with the world's most expensive stogies (UrbanDaddy once dubbed it "Part classic Playboy Club, part Goldfinger's lair.").
- Its owner Noe Landini has spoken out against vaccine mandates and moved restaurants out of D.C., citing crime.
Meanwhile, the ex-prez still maintains a club of his own, for now at least: Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia (aka Mar-a-Lago of the North).
Yes, but: Some old haunts die hard. Bets are on the Big Board for a place where Proud Boys can hang.
- Similar to Harry's, the H Street NE bar flouted pandemic restrictions. It also sued the city over vaccine mandates, and in doing so, "became a right-wing darling," says Washingtonian food editor Jessica Sidman.
Some Trump loyalists still return to their old spending grounds at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, now a Waldorf Astoria.
- A few reasons: It's close to the White House. Inertia. And some Trump Hotel staff, maybe a favorite server or bartender, are still there.
Still, don't bet on patronage from the former president. Since Trump adversary José Andrés opened his splashy Bazaar in the Waldorf, one of the biggest spenders to pop up in campaign filings is a Trump nemesis: Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
Go deeper: Donald Trump wants to "take over" D.C.