Washington: Another candidate during another election might have used this day, a fortnight from polling day, to defend a swing state - and Donald Trump has a lot to defend. Most of the swing states are looking dire for him at present.
But this is not another candidate, so on Wednesday morning the Donald was in Washington, DC, attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony for his newest property, Trump International Hotel, occupying what was once the capital's main post office, occupying a full city block on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol building.
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Trump opens hotel blocks from White House
Opening Trump International Hotel around the corner from the White House, Donald Trump says his company built it "under budget and ahead of schedule."
When he finally arrived on stage 45 minutes later, Trump declared that the restoration of the grand old building could be summed up using five key words: "Under budget, ahead of schedule."
You don't hear that about government projects much these days anymore, he added.
Addressing the dignitaries seated in front of the media in their pen, Trump lamented the cost spikes faced by those with Obamacare health insurance and what he said was a failing public education system.
He pointed out his friend Newt Gingrich - the former House speaker who has become perhaps his most high-profile Republican supporter - and congratulated him for his spat the previous evening with Fox News host Megyn Kelly.
Gingrich had upbraided her on air for reporting on the claims of 11 women that Trump had sexually assaulted them, rather than focusing on other claims made against Bill Clinton.
"You are obsessed with sex and you don't care about public policy," said Gingrich, who had famously been having an affair during his first marriage even as he led the Republican attack over the Bill Clinton's infidelities.
![Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with his family at the grand opening of Trump International Hotel in ...](/web/20161028161611im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/b/m/e/a/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsblzq.png/1477566853278.jpg)
Welcome to Trump hotel DC - one of the more bizarre US election campaign events I've ever been to. pic.twitter.com/T02VDjdbIJ
— Katty Kay (@KattyKayBBC) October 26, 2016
Protest happening right now outside of the grand opening of Trump Hotel in DC. pic.twitter.com/V1ILP41YHI
— Daniel Hajjar (@DanielGHajjar) October 26, 2016
![Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during the grand opening of Trump International Hotel in Washington.](/web/20161028161611im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/b/m/e/1/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsblzq.png/1477566853278.jpg)
"Congratulations, Newt, on last night, that was an amazing interview," Trump told his buddy during the launch. "We don't play games, Newt, right?"
Trump concluded by announcing that after the ceremony he would be off to Florida and North Carolina, where he said the campaign was doing very well. And it is true that after days of bad news for Trump, a new Florida poll has him up by two percentage points. This is a lifeline to the Trump campaign, which cannot win without the state, and where an average of polls still shows Clinton to be ahead by 1.6 points. Clinton leads on an average of polls by 4.4 points nationally, an improvement for Trump over the past week.
But another poll by Suffolk University and USA Today found Clinton leading by 9 points nationwide, 47 per cent to 38 per cent.
"Hillary Clinton is favoured by both men and women, in most age categories, and in every region of the country," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Centre in Boston.
"Fifteen per cent of voters remain persuadable—those who chose third-party candidates and the undecided voters, but Donald Trump would have to win them over by a four-to-one margin to catch the front-runner. It's not impossible but highly improbable."
Trump declared that the hotel, where room rates are presently from around $US450 to $US20,000, was a place for American families to come together, before moving the proceedings upstairs to the vast lobby for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
When a black tenant applied for an apartment in one of Trump's buildings, she was told it wasn't available.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 25, 2016
A white tenant got that unit. pic.twitter.com/na5Tdyav0E
As reporters and guests again waited on the Trump family party, some browsed the pamphlets about the site that had earlier been distributed.
They highlighted the design features settled upon by Trump, his daughter Ivanka and "famed architects Beyer Blinder Bell". The publication revealed a significant concern for measurements. Every feature is described by length or volume, right down to "14-foot wide carpeted corridors".
The size of the suites is telling too. The Ivanka suite is 860 square feet (262 square metres). The presidential suite 4000 square feet and "three times the size of the Oval Office".
The Trump townhouse is even bigger, with 6300 square feet. From there a guest might watch the inauguration parade as it passes by underneath in January.