Thousands of protesters lined the streets around Trump Tower late Monday, providing a resounding chorus of dissent as Donald J. Trump returned to his high-rise penthouse on Fifth Avenue for the first time as president.
Mr.
Trump arrived by helicopter in Lower Manhattan shortly before 9 p.m.
and then made his way north in the presidential limousine for the
roughly six-mile drive to his soaring Midtown Manhattan building.
Throngs of protesters, who had camped outside Trump Tower for hours,
awaited his arrival, waving signs, chanting and marching, determined to
make sure he heard their disapproval.
“Shame! Shame!” people chanted as his limousine arrived.
But
Mr. Trump avoided a confrontation with the demonstrators. His
presidential motorcade avoided Fifth Avenue and pulled up to Trump Tower
after driving the wrong way on a one-way street.
The
president, a lifelong New Yorker, loves the city, but most residents do
not love him back. The city did not vote for him in the presidential
election, and its leaders have lined up against him as vocal opponents.
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On Monday, protesters hoped to remind him of their longtime dissatisfaction and their fresh concerns about his presidency.
Richard
Wilson, 48, who lives in Brooklyn, joined the crowd as the president
arrived home, standing on his bicycle to see over the heads of other
people. Mr. Wilson said it was the first demonstration he had joined
against Mr. Trump during his presidency.
“This is like a tantrum,” Mr. Wilson said, describing the presidency so far. “Like the majority of the stuff he does.”
Many
people said recent events that caused alarm — the deadly white
nationalists’ rally in Virginia, Mr. Trump’s tepid condemnation of it,
and his threats of “fire and fury” toward North Korea — had inspired
them to show up.
“Every
week it’s something new,” said Michael Wang, a 36-year-old artist and
consultant in New York who was holding a sign outside Trump Tower that
read, “Nuclear war is not a ratings game.”
The
groups began to gather around 5 p.m., filling sidewalks and disrupting
normal traffic near Trump Tower, erupting at times into clashes with
police officers. Dozens of officers formed a single-file wall outside
the building, and some unruly protesters were yanked from the crowd.
Three demonstrators were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, the police said.
A
smaller demonstration began around 5 p.m. outside the New York Public
Library near Bryant Park. The protesters marched and chanted to Columbus
Circle.
Heidi
Dorow, a 52-year-old grant maker, said that Monday’s protest carried
more importance after the unrest in Virginia over the weekend.
“It’s
important in these moments for white people to make a public stance
against racism, against white supremacy, and be public and vocal about
that,” Ms. Dorow said before joining the march though Midtown.
The
demonstrations on Monday were largely peaceful, but some anti-Trump
protesters clashed with the president’s supporters. As the two sides
shouted obscenities, Magdalena Black, a critic of the president, struck
up a brief but largely civil political conversation with David Casavis,
65, who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.
“It’s
not about economics; it’s about racism,” Ms. Black told Mr. Casavis
about the president’s rise. Mr. Casavis said he disagreed, as a police
officer approached and asked Ms. Black to clear the sidewalk.
“We’re having political discourse,” she told the officer, pleading with him to allow them to continue talking. He made her move.
The first time Mr. Trump visited New York City as president,
in May, was brief. He ended up staying only about four hours, and he
never set foot inside his Manhattan home. After his arrival on Monday,
he was scheduled to have a phone conversation with Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe of Japan at 9:30 p.m., according to a schedule issued by the White
House. Mr. Trump plans to remain in Manhattan until Wednesday, when he
is to travel to his country club in Bedminster, N.J.
Mr.
Trump’s visit resulted in some street closings on Monday afternoon
around Trump Tower — 55th and 58th Streets between Avenue of the
Americas and Madison Avenue were closed to vehicle traffic, while a
limited number of vehicles, like those making deliveries, were allowed
onto 56th Street.
The
New York Police Department placed a wall of officers in front of Trump
Tower as a barrier between protesters and the entrance of the building.
Behind them, 12 city sanitation trucks loaded with dirt were parked end
to end to form a barrier on the south side of Fifth Avenue.
A
space cordoned off by metal barricades stretched along Fifth Avenue
from 52nd to 55th Streets, occupying one lane of traffic. It was meant
to be a holding pen for protesters, the police said.
Merchants
peddling pro- or anti-Trump items, who were once a fixture outside the
building but had largely disappeared, were back on Monday selling their
wares. Bennett Weiss, 71, a retired jeweler from Newburgh, N.Y., was
selling anti-Trump pins he had stuck onto a black umbrella. “It’s $2
each, three for $5 or free if they don’t have any cash,” Mr. Weiss said.
“If you want people to think you are a decent human being, wear an ‘Impeach Trump’ button,” he said to one passer-by.
The
crowd outside Trump Tower tapered off after Mr. Trump’s arrival. The
neighborhood showed signs of returning to normal, with a group of
teenagers pedaling on their bicycles on 57th Street moments after it
reopened.
Protesters started to leave — but not for good.
“Welcome home!” one person yelled outside Trump Tower. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
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