'Pay Bribes Here' Projected onto Trump's DC Hotel

Image: PHOTO: The Trump International Hotel, Washington, D.C. (photo via Flickr/Maxence)
Image: PHOTO: The Trump International Hotel, Washington, D.C. (photo via Flickr/Maxence)
Patrick Clarke
by Patrick Clarke
Last updated: 5:15 PM ET, Tue May 16, 2017

President Donald Trump's Washington, D.C. hotel has been vandalized yet again.

Instead of spray paint or flames, the defacing came in the form of a projector this time around.

According to CNN, artist and filmmaker Robin Bell admitted to projecting several phrases onto the Trump International Hotel Monday night.

These included "Pay Trump bribes here" and "Emoluments welcome" in reference to the emoluments clause that prohibits federal officials from accepting payments from foreign governments.

Bell told CNN that his goal was to draw attention to accusations that Trump was allowing foreign leaders to gain access in exchange for staying at his luxury hotel.

"It's a pretty clear-cut example of impropriety," Bell told CNN in a telephone interview. "This is not like politics as usual. The rules and the lines are being pushed so far and this seemed to be so clear to me."

Opened last fall, the Trump International Hotel occupies the Old Post Office building that's being leased out by the General Services Administration (GSA).

House Democrats have been up in arms for months, arguing that Trump has violated his lease since being sworn into the Oval Office. Despite the calls for the president to divest from the property, the GSA has sided with Trump, though their ruling hasn't stopped some local businesses from lashing out. Earlier this year, a D.C. wine bar filed a lawsuit against Trump alleging the five-star hotel had an unfair advantage in attracting customers.

[READMORE] READ MORE: Donald Trump's New DC Hotel Ranked Among Worst of 2016[/READMORE]

Bell credited the hotel staff for shutting down his display pretty quickly, telling CNN it was short-lived because the hotel's staff is "pretty diligent about asking to take them down."

Nonetheless, more protests are likely to continue.

"There will be a lot more projections to come," Bell said. "We're going to keep going."


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Patrick Clarke

Patrick Clarke

Senior Editor

A Maryland native and wanderer who has lived across the U.S. from North Carolina to SoCal, Patrick Clarke graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in journalism. He previously worked for Bleacher

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