A change.org petition that demands the First Lady move into the White House or pay for the security at Trump Tower herself has gathered over 180,000 signatures as of Wednesday morning.
The petition argues in short,
“The U.S. taxpayer is paying an exorbitant amount of money to protect the First Lady in Trump Tower, located in New York City. As to help relieve the national debt, this expense yields no positive results for the nation and should be cut from being funded.
The last First Lady to not take up residence at the White House was Anna Harrison.
The petition will be presented to Sen. Bernie Sanders (D – VT) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D – MA). While this petition seems exactly like what it is — another miscellaneous gripe from leftists over something the Trumps do that they wouldn’t have minded if a Democrat were in office — I’m inclined to agree with the sentiment.
Initially, it might seem like something to say “big deal. Do we not have better things to worry about?” However, the cost of securing Trump Tower while Melania and Barron are there is not inexpensive.
According to The New York Times, the estimated costs to the NYPD alone is between $127,000 to $146,000 per day when the president is out-of-town.
Another inclination might be to point out that Barron Trump was midway through a school year when his dad was inaugurated and it would be cruel to make him move right now.
However, the Obamas, Bushes and Clintons all had school age children at the time they came into the White House. The time during the election and transition were adequate amounts of time to prepare households, schools and children for an eventual move.
The fact that Melania and son Barron are still residing in Manhattan is either a stark reminder that the Trumps don’t think that rules and precedent and protocol apply to them, or the ball was dropped during the transition on finding Barron a well-suited school in D.C.
Melania and Barron need to get themselves moved down to D.C. and stop the unnecessary bleeding of taxpayer dollars when the White House is ready and waiting.
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