Trump's bubble presidency: He's living a sheltered life in the White House, Mar-a-Lago

The president hasn't been getting out to meet with "real Americans" that often

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published March 10, 2017 2:40PM (EST)

 (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

President Donald Trump is well-known for his obsessive TV-watching, which critics claim causes him to have a narrow worldview. Apparently Trump has followed a similarly cloistered approach in his day-to-day life, striving whenever possible to avoid leaving the White House or one of his Trump properties.

During his seven week presidency, Trump has not once slept in a bedroom that wasn't located in either the White House or Mar-a-Lago, according to Politico. The one time he has frequented a Washington eating establishment outside of the White House, it was at his own Trump International Hotel.

Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, a close friend of Trump's, told Politico that "he's not a guy who likes to be away from his own bed. He doesn't want to tour or travel for the sake of traveling. If he can get in a round of golf in Scotland, he'll do that. But you're not going to see him just spend three days shopping and visiting friends."

Author Ronald Kessler, another close Trump friend, told Politico that "because he loves to work, he sleeps only three or four hours a night. It’s most convenient for him to live close to his office which is what he did in New York, what he’s doing at the White House. He loves his own territory, he almost never goes to another restaurant aside from his own eating facilities."

Kessler later added that Trump seems to love his new job. "It's amazing to me that it's the same Donald Trump I've always known. He is doing the same things. Now he's talking a lot more about politics and the government instead of his businesses and TV show," Kessler said.


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

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