Trump hotel's outsized D.C. billboard a Washington tourist draw
It may not be the White House, but the spectre of Donald Trump will be moving into an address on Pennsylvania Avenue next year — whether he gets elected to the Oval Office or not.
The signs are all there, mere blocks from the president's official residence. In giant block letters, the name "TRUMP" floats below the words "COMING 2016." Scan a little lower, and the brash signage makes more sense, with text directing people to the website TrumpHotelDC.com.
Passersby might be forgiven if they mistake the billboard promoting The Donald's latest ultra-luxe hotel in downtown Washington for a campaign ad in the heart of the U.S. capital.
"The name, being so much bigger than the TrumpHotelDC.com. And I mean, look at the font size," said Kelley Gludt, a Baltimore rabbi visiting the White House with her family.
"Probably not accidental, right?"
Maybe not. In fact, D.C. councillor Charles Allen sent a letter to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs this summer complaining that the signs "can easily be interpreted as campaign signage for Donald Trump."
Allen requested the permitting process for the signage be investigated, reasoning the design "is substantially similar in colour scheme, font, lettering, and election year" to the official Trump 2016 campaign logo.
Confused for 'headquarters'
Amused tourists, hurrying in the rain on Thursday, slowed their pace to snap pictures of the billboard next to the street signs at Pennsylvania Avenue and 12th Street.
"Oh yeah, you gotta take a photo of 'Pennsylvania' and 'Trump,'" said Faith Cantor, another Baltimore rabbi visiting with her children and Gludt's family. "And '2016'! That's funny."
One tourist seeing the billboard for the first time asked if the new hotel was a "headquarters for the campaign."
The Washington Post noted in July that presidential candidates are prohibited from campaigning on federal property, and that the $200-million redevelopment in D.C. occupies the Old Post Office Pavilion, which is owned by the federal government.
The Trump Organization, which oversees the billionaire businessman's real estate and development properties, has leased the 1890s-era building, but the signs went up in 2014, before Trump announced his candidacy.
According to the Campaign Legal Centre, nothing about the signs skirts federal campaign finance rules. But it could pose a problem if similar signage goes up in the future.
"It would be illegal if today, using Trump Organization corporate funds, the Trump Organization bought billboards all over D.C. saying, 'Trump for president,'" explained Paul S. Ryan, the deputy executive director of the centre.
"What is not illegal is for corporations that candidates are involved in to engage in their normal course of business. And my understanding is these billboards are commonplace at Trump development projects."
In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization reiterated that the company "long ago obtained all necessary approvals for the signage on Pennsylvania Avenue." The statement added that by the time the redevelopment project is completed in 2016, "this will be the finest luxury hotel in the country."
That distinction failed to impress one federal employee who rolled his eyes at the Trump sign above. "A very modest guy," he remarked dryly.