USA: Anti-Trump demos engulf NYC in their thousands on 5th day of protests1:51
New York was once again engulfed by thousands of protesters demonstrating against President-elect Donald Trump, Sunday, following the Republican nominee?s victory in the US elections earlier in the week. The protesters rallied marched on Trump Tower, all the while chanting "We reject the President-elect" and carrying placards reading "Trump not my President," "Predator-in-Chief" and "Dump Trump." After Trump's win was announced earlier this week, there have been multiple large demonstrations in several large US cities, including in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Seattle. Trump declared victory in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton called him to concede defeat following a bitterly fought election battle. Trump beat Clinton in a surprise landslide victory, garnering 278 of the Electoral College votes, while the Democratic candidate received 218.
What’s happening behind Trump Tower’s golden doors
THE most powerful people in the United States — or those who intend to be — have been flooding into Trump Tower since the election, and today marked one of the most glittering gatherings so far.
As the President-elect stays holed up in his New York residence on the 58th floor, away from the mass of protesters outside, a crack team of his closest confidants have streaming into the building to pay homage to the new leader of the free world.
Armed guards stand outside the revolving doors beneath the large gold letters spelling out the Trump name, keeping an eye on the demonstrations against the election result, which continue to rage a week after the vote.
Visitors pass through metal detectors and are frisked by security in the 10-storey marble atrium before heading up the escalators to Donald Trump’s offices, or into the lifts branded with his likeness to reach his magnificent penthouse suite.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and Mr Trump’s ex-wife Marla Marples, mother to his daughter Tiffany, poured into the New York skyscraper on Tuesday as the unanointed took photos from behind a velvet rope.
Also in attendance was Mr Trump’s rival Republican presidential nominee Ted Cruz, who is tipped for a plum role in his cabinet as Supreme Court justice
The President-elect has been surrounded by key confidants and transition team, which includes his influential three eldest children, Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric.
After another busy day, Mr Trump dodged the press on Tuesday night to slip out of his tower for the first time since he met Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday. The President-elect dined with his family and entourage at Mahattan steakhouse 21 Club, where he received a standing ovation. The block around the restaurant was closed off by police, but a reporter there for a work night out snapped a photo, only wrongly identifying the location.
Standing ovation and cheers at Keene's steakhouse for @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/zJsA1t00Sk
— Taylor Riggs (@RiggsReport) November 16, 2016
Mr Trump has barely left the Fifth Avenue skyscraper since his victory, spending his time in talks with his campaign advisers and first two appointments, chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist, Stephen Bannon — a highly controversial white nationalist.
He has also hosted former NY mayor Rudy Giuliani, a surprise contender to be his secretary of state, as well as consulting with his glamorous press secretary, Hope Hicks.
The President-elect has kept his nose to the grindstone since his election, talking to foreign leaders over the phone and negotiating the make-up of the rest of his team, who will be vital to the success and direction of his presidency, as Mr Obama observed this week.
Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters: “President-elect Trump is there receiving calls from different people. He has different meetings, interviews.
“We’ve really just been ensconced in Trump Tower trying to form a government.”
Mr Trump will also be hammering out what he’ll achieve in those crucial first 100 days, and refining the details of his notorious “First Day Project”. Throughout the campaign, he referred to how he will spend his first 24 hours signing orders to undo everything Mr Obama has put in place, and create his own legacy.
He will no doubt be puzzling over how many of his first-day promises he can keep, having vowed to meet with top generals about defeating the Islamic State, call manufacturing giants to warn them to bring jobs back to the US, begin deporting unauthorised immigrants and remove all gun-free zones at schools.
His isolation in his grand Manhattan residence will be excellent preparation for his carefully guarded life at the White House.
“The reason my hair looks so neat all the time is because I don’t have to deal with the elements very often,” Mr Trump wrote in his 2004 book How To Get Rich. “I live in the building where I work. I take an elevator from my bedroom to my office. The rest of the time, I’m either in my stretch limousine, my private jet, my helicopter, or my private club in Palm Beach, Florida.”
While he will live in Washington DC, he is expected to continue spending time at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort, where he got married with the Clintons in attendance, alongside many celebrity guests.
The 70-year-old is unlikely to have much trouble submitting to the Secret Service bodyguard he will need as President, since he rarely leaves his hotel and its golf courses and restaurants these days. “Why should I go anywhere else?” one member of the club already known as the “Winter White House” recalls him saying. “I have the best food in Palm Beach.”
Whether his three eldest children will continue to run the Trump Organisation or join him in Washington remains in question. Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka — along with her husband Jared Kushner — have all been seen at the glitzy headquarters, and form part of his transition team, although they have emphasised they will not have official roles in his cabinet.
Ivanka on Monday told 60 Minutes she would simply “be the daughter” but said she would use the opportunity to campaign on issues that mattered to her, including equal pay and paid parental leave.
A large, black and white photo of the attractive 35-year-old looks into the rose-coloured atrium from her jewellery store, one of the many shops selling Trump merchandise on the large ground floor, alongside major retailers including Starbucks and Gucci.
Ivanka was criticised today after her website was seen selling the $13,000 bracelet she wore for the family’s first TV interview aired on CBS on Monday, which saw the Trumps seated on golden chairs in the extravagant penthouse apartment.
All eyes are going to be fixed on this luxury fortress until the new first family decamps to another one in January — the President’s official residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
— With wires
DECISION 2016: Michael Moore Says 'Protests Will Only Grow' at Anti Trump Rally Outside Trump Tower November 120:20
Filmmaker Michael Moore shared his thoughts about the trajectory of the anti-Donald Trump protests during a rally in front of Trump Tower in New York on November 12. In response to an inaudible question, Moore said that the protests will only grow. ?The majority of Americans want Hillary Clinton and we?re not going to tolerate anything but her in the White house.? Hundreds of people gathered on 5th avenue with signs protesting against the president-elect. Credit: Instagram/graciecoates via Storyful
Originally published as What’s happening in Trump Tower