Even though former President Donald Trump now legally calls Florida home, the native New Yorker he returned to the Big Apple on Mar. 7 for the first time since leaving the White House on Jan. 20. It’s not clear what brought the 74-year-old back to the place he literally called home for all of his life before moving to Washington D.C., but he didn’t receive a warm welcome. About a dozen or so protesters stood in front of Trump Tower on Mar. 8 calling for his arrest, along with a giant caricature balloon featuring Trump with a double chin, small hands, oversized ears and for some reason, bucked front teeth.
The protesters stood in front of a large banner that read “Arrest Trump,” as he’s currently being investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for tax and bank-related fraud. DA Cyrus Vance and his team of prosecutors have been investigating Trump’s financial dealings for over two years. Others held signs demanding, “Indict Trump.”
One person held up a sign reading “Go Home Florida Man,” as Trump changed his legal address to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, FL in the fall of 2019. He claimed that he’d paid millions in taxes to the city and state of New York, and that the place didn’t deserve a bite of his income after how New York’s political machine turned on Trump as president.
“1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, is the place I have come to love and will stay for, hopefully, another 5 years as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, but my family and I will be making Palm Beach, Florida, our Permanent Residence. I cherish New York, and the people of New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state. Few have been treated worse,” Trump tweeted on Nov. 1, 2019.
He added, “They haven’t treated me properly, I pay millions of taxes. Millions and millions of dollars in New York and they’ve never treated me, you know, since I became president, they just haven’t treated, I think the office with the kind of respect.” Trump did get some “respect” from supporters who countered the protesters. They had an even bigger banner reading “Trump 2024” outside of Trump Tower, along with a larger crowd waiving blue Trump flags. One thing is clear, even out of office Trump continues to stir up strong feelings between his supporters and detractors.