Security beefed up at Trump Tower as ex-president plans first visit to New York since leaving office

Security has been stepped up outside Trump Tower

Credit: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency 

Security is being stepped up outside Trump Tower in New York ahead of the former president’s first visit to the city since leaving the White House.

Donald Trump was expected to arrive in Manhattan on Sunday night having moved to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida in January.

Speculation was fuelled by reports of police planning to augment security outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the building where he launched his bid for the presidency in 2015.

The area has been the scene of anti-Trump protests in recent years, and tension has been raised by the January 6 Capitol riot when his supporters attempted to overturn the result of last year’s presidential election.

Despite being a native New Yorker, Mr Trump moved his personal residence to Florida in 2019, where he also cast a postal vote in the presidential election.

Democrat-run New York City was not expected to roll out the welcome mat for the former president’s visit.

Last July, New York mayor Bill de Blasio joined other city officials in painting a Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower.

The city is also the epicentre of investigations into Mr Trump’s financial affairs launched by Cyrus Vance Jr, the Manhattan District Attorney and Letitia James, New York State’s Attorney General.

After a brief period of comparative silence, Mr Trump has leapt back into the political fray,  in anticipation of running for the White House again in 2024.

New York City officials painted a Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower last year

Credit: REUTERS/Mike Segar

Having been a keynote speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last weekend,  Mr Trump has stepped up his attack on political opponents within the Republican party.

The latest target for the former president’s ire was Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska senator who voted for his conviction in the second Senate impeachment trial who faces re-election next year.

Mr Trump told the Politico website that he plans to travel to Alaska to campaign against Ms Murkowski who, like several of the former president’s Republican opponents, is expected to face a primary challenge.

He has also intensified his squabble with the party establishment by sending cease and desist letters to stop the Republicans’ three major fundraising bodies using his name and likeness to sell merchandise and solicit donations.