Much was made of Ivanka Trump’s move to DC when her father won the presidency back in November. She had chosen a home in Northwest Washington, close to the Obamas and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and only a few miles from The White House. Trump had also pledged not to seek a formal role in her father’s administration, leaving her husband Jared Kushner to focus on his role as adviser.
Today things have changed quite a bit. Ivanka Trump is now getting her own office in The West Wing, sitting in on practically every meeting the president has had with foreign leaders, and the welcome mat that was rolled out at her new DC home is being slowly rolled back thanks to the frustrations of her neighbors. Now since we’re talking Washington, D.C.’s elite, it should be noted that the entire situation is almost to the point of comedy. It’s very rich people having ridiculous disputes over parking and people can’t seem to stop reporting about it.
The main crux of the dispute seems to be related to the Secret Service presence and the installation of “no parking” signs around the area according to The Washington Post. Complaints have been filed, the Mayor of D.C. has been forced to get involved, and the entire scene sounds like a circus:
“Are you kidding me?” asked Marti Robinson, a trial attorney who lives across the street. “This is the adult child of the president. Sometimes there are 10 cars out here.”
Metal barricades along Tracy Place and Kalorama Road now make it impossible for pedestrians to use the sidewalk bordering the house. Neighbors talk of clusters of Secret Service agents lingering on the pavement, conversing in loud voices and even changing their shirts in public view.
“They’ve completely taken over the whole street — as if they have the authority!” said Robinson, an Obama appointee to the U.S. Product Safety Commission. In her own email to the mayor, Robinson wrote that the Secret Service encampment “has truly ruined my peaceful enjoyment of my house.”
“It is every bit as disruptive as if a very active business was allowed to come into this residential neighborhood,” she wrote.
Dozens complained to the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, the city seems stuck between the residents and the Secret Service, and now it all seems to be a search for balance between living in Kalorama and the security of Kushner and Trump, the Obama family, and nearby Tillerson. The only real question is if this is just an inconvenience of life for the residents nearby or if it’s just the latest issue in Kalorama. The Washington Post adds that parking has always been an issue — as it is around most of DC — pointing out that a nearby mosque draws “large gatherings of worshipers” that take up parking spots along the street.
No matter what, it is clear that Ivanka Trump is now the troublemaker in the area for the other residents. But Neighborhood Council President Christopher Chapin sings a different tune — and doesn’t live as close to the Trump home — according to Fox News:
“We are delighted to have political figures like the Obamas, the Kushners and the Tillersons living in our neighborhood,” he said.
The entire situation is just an odd peek inside another world. People in million dollar homes complaining about parking while living two miles from The White House. It could be a political situation, but that would likely make too much sense. It definitely shows that some of these people are just normal folks, having nothing better to do than complain about parking spots.
(Via The Washington Post / Fox News)