Trump Is In Florida, Not His Apartment

According to multiple news outlets, Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan was being evacuated for a suspicious package. President-elect Donald Trump is not in Trump Tower, however. He's currently in Florida, according to reports. As CNN's Noah Gray tweeted minutes after news of the evacuation broke, the package in question was flagged by a K9 unit, but it was not dangerous. On the contrary, it was apparently a bag full of children's toys.

In other words, despite a worrisome few minutes, this particular security incident ended up being nothing of note. But even if it had, it wouldn't have impacted Trump himself. While he does spend a lot of time in his eponymous New York skyscraper (indeed, he's basically been running his presidential transition out of it), he also spends a lot of time in his Palm Beach, Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. That's where he is today, meaning he was nowhere near all the brouhaha.

The momentary evacuation does hammer home some of the challenges the Secret Service will face for the next four years, however, as well as New York City law enforcement. There's really no modern analogue to a president spending so much of their time in a massive, hugely visible building in the thick of Manhattan. And with early indications suggesting Trump might sometimes choose to depart the White House in favor of his gold-drenched Trump Tower penthouse suite, the costs and practical challenges of ensuring his safety will be considerable.

In fact. it's been reported that the Secret Service may have to rent out a floor of the high-priced tower simply to stay proximate enough to ensure Trump's safety — a move which could result in the president's own protective forces paying him rent, unless he were to agree to let them occupy the space they needed free of cost, or provide some similar accommodation. But, suffice to say, that doesn't seem like a safe bet.

More to come ...