News

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Is Barron Trump Staying In New York? His Father Will Make The Move To DC

There are many unknowns when it comes to the president-elect's plans. One of them should be fairly mundane compared to others — but as it turns out, where the incoming first family will spend most of its time has suddenly turned into a bit of a story in and of itself. President-elect Donald Trump said that he would like to stay only part-time in the White House and it's not clear if his wife, Melania and son, 10-year-old Barron Trump will be staying in New York full time, or if they'll travel back and forth with him. According to The New York Times, Melania reportedly plans on moving from Trump Tower in Manhattan to Washington D.C., but Barron just started the school year in the Big Apple. At just 10 years old, it's possible that Melania will wait to allow him to finish out the year in his hometown.

Either way, the family penthouse in Trump Tower is going nowhere. It was widely reported that Trump is a sort of homebody and prefers to wake up in his own bed. For this reason, he would sometimes fly across the country while on the campaign trail just to get to bed in Trump Tower. He said that he plans on being in D.C. when Congress is working, which is four days a week, and then head to New York City or his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida on the weekends.

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

Technically, this sort of unorthodox arrangement is allowed. Trump can refuse to stay in the White House, but it would be odd, since no other American leader has eschewed the residence as of yet. However, critics have noted that it would also be an extreme waste of resources. When it comes to security, Secret Service and other organizations would have plan for the president to have an HQ in two cities. On election night, for example, there was a no-fly zone over Trump Tower in Midtown, one that currently remains in place. Transporting and securing the resident and his family in two places, and between two states, would be a big deal.

And it's not just the security detail that's getting critics riled up either. Let's remember that Republicans often chided President Obama for going on vacations or golfing. “It was reported today [Obama] played 250 rounds of golf and he’s going to be in Hawaii, I think did they say for three weeks?" Trump said back in 2015. "Two hundred and fifty rounds, that’s more than a guy who plays in the PGA Tour plays. He played more golf last year than Tiger Woods. We don’t have time for this. We have to work."

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

On the campaign trail this past month, Trump also bashed Obama for not being in his office and instead stumping for Hillary Clinton. "Why isn't President Obama working instead of campaigning for Hillary Clinton?" Trump tweeted in September. It was something he repeated on the campaign trail in the lead up to the election. Now apparently, he's advocating for his own mini-getaway every weekend, of sorts.

The transition from the Obama administration to the Trump administration is going to be long and hard. It might be a smoother ride if Trump were to just assume the full responsibilities of the position and take up residence in D.C., as every other American president has done before him. It might be worth it for Melania and Barron to move at the end of the school year, since being 10 years old in a new school can be awful. But in the name of unity and honoring the office, it seems odd to split residencies, if only because it's a waste of resources, both human and fiscal.