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| Brand Promotions Suggest Donald Trump Is Looking Past Election Day | Brand Promotions Suggest Donald Trump Is Looking Past Election Day |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| As his poll numbers have declined in the closing weeks of the presidential race, Donald J. Trump has begun to engage in barely veiled promotions of his business brand off the campaign trail, dragging reporters to his marquee properties in between his campaign events. | As his poll numbers have declined in the closing weeks of the presidential race, Donald J. Trump has begun to engage in barely veiled promotions of his business brand off the campaign trail, dragging reporters to his marquee properties in between his campaign events. |
| On Tuesday, Mr. Trump added an abrupt appearance at the Trump National Doral, one of his gilded golf courses and resorts in Florida, ostensibly to demonstrate how many employees he has there and how much they admire him as a boss. | On Tuesday, Mr. Trump added an abrupt appearance at the Trump National Doral, one of his gilded golf courses and resorts in Florida, ostensibly to demonstrate how many employees he has there and how much they admire him as a boss. |
| On Wednesday, instead of spending the morning in one of the battleground states where polls show him trailing Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump planned to attend a ribbon-cutting at his elaborately remade hotel at the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. | On Wednesday, instead of spending the morning in one of the battleground states where polls show him trailing Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump planned to attend a ribbon-cutting at his elaborately remade hotel at the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. |
| The stops are a remarkable display of personal promotion by a presidential nominee, raising questions about whether the businessman, who has lived by the mantra that “all publicity is good publicity,” is at least partly casting his eye past the 2016 race, and toward bolstering the brand that bears his name. | The stops are a remarkable display of personal promotion by a presidential nominee, raising questions about whether the businessman, who has lived by the mantra that “all publicity is good publicity,” is at least partly casting his eye past the 2016 race, and toward bolstering the brand that bears his name. |
| In a telephone interview, Mr. Trump rejected such questions and said he was demonstrating his credentials for the presidency at such events by showing the type of efficiencies he would bring to government. | In a telephone interview, Mr. Trump rejected such questions and said he was demonstrating his credentials for the presidency at such events by showing the type of efficiencies he would bring to government. |
| “Today it was about jobs. Tomorrow it’s about being under budget and ahead of schedule,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the Washington hotel. | “Today it was about jobs. Tomorrow it’s about being under budget and ahead of schedule,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the Washington hotel. |
| His critics saw a different motive. | His critics saw a different motive. |
| “This is the worst message to send to all of those true and loyal Trump supporters out there who actually did believe in him and actually did have a stake in this election,” said Kevin Madden, a former adviser to Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee. | “This is the worst message to send to all of those true and loyal Trump supporters out there who actually did believe in him and actually did have a stake in this election,” said Kevin Madden, a former adviser to Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee. |
| “With less than two weeks to go until Election Day,” Mr. Madden added, “Mr. Trump is repaying them by using their campaign to showcase his hotel. He said he wouldn’t let them down, but he already has. They have a right to be disappointed.” | “With less than two weeks to go until Election Day,” Mr. Madden added, “Mr. Trump is repaying them by using their campaign to showcase his hotel. He said he wouldn’t let them down, but he already has. They have a right to be disappointed.” |
| During the Republican primaries, Mr. Trump often used his properties as a backdrop for election night news conferences. He has regularly sprinkled references to his hotels into his speeches, intertwining his business and campaign interests. | During the Republican primaries, Mr. Trump often used his properties as a backdrop for election night news conferences. He has regularly sprinkled references to his hotels into his speeches, intertwining his business and campaign interests. |
| But those news conferences were at least passably tethered to the rhythms of the election cycle. Even a raucous one at Mr. Trump’s Washington hotel in September, where he haltingly tried to unwind his false claims about President Obama’s birthplace, was initially intended to highlight his support from military leaders. | But those news conferences were at least passably tethered to the rhythms of the election cycle. Even a raucous one at Mr. Trump’s Washington hotel in September, where he haltingly tried to unwind his false claims about President Obama’s birthplace, was initially intended to highlight his support from military leaders. |
| Mr. Trump’s event on Tuesday at Doral, and the ribbon-cutting on Wednesday at the new Trump International Hotel in Washington, had nothing to do with the daily grind of the final two weeks of the national campaign, burning valuable time that could have been spent courting voters. | Mr. Trump’s event on Tuesday at Doral, and the ribbon-cutting on Wednesday at the new Trump International Hotel in Washington, had nothing to do with the daily grind of the final two weeks of the national campaign, burning valuable time that could have been spent courting voters. |
| The Doral event was announced with little notice on Tuesday morning. | The Doral event was announced with little notice on Tuesday morning. |
| “Would anybody like to say a few words about working for Trump?” Mr. Trump asked his housekeeping staff and other employees in front of nearly two dozen members of the news media. | “Would anybody like to say a few words about working for Trump?” Mr. Trump asked his housekeeping staff and other employees in front of nearly two dozen members of the news media. |
| When an employee took Mr. Trump up on his request, the candidate joked, “Better say, ‘Good,’ or I’ll say, ‘You’re fired!’ ” | |
| Framed by a grand beige building, with marble fountains in the background, Mr. Trump opened his remarks promoting the success not of his campaign, but of his golf resort. He insisted that his new hotel in Washington was doing great business, asserting that “bookings are through the roof.” | Framed by a grand beige building, with marble fountains in the background, Mr. Trump opened his remarks promoting the success not of his campaign, but of his golf resort. He insisted that his new hotel in Washington was doing great business, asserting that “bookings are through the roof.” |
| “I think it’s one of the great hotels, it could be, one of the great hotels of the world. And that’s very exciting. That opens tomorrow,” Mr. Trump said. | “I think it’s one of the great hotels, it could be, one of the great hotels of the world. And that’s very exciting. That opens tomorrow,” Mr. Trump said. |
| In fact, the hotel opened in September, and it has struggled with slashed room rates and a lack of bookings for major holiday parties, according to reports. Mr. Trump denied those reports. “Every night it’s become the place where Washington is going,” he said, calling September’s kickoff a “soft opening.” | In fact, the hotel opened in September, and it has struggled with slashed room rates and a lack of bookings for major holiday parties, according to reports. Mr. Trump denied those reports. “Every night it’s become the place where Washington is going,” he said, calling September’s kickoff a “soft opening.” |
| At the ribbon-cutting for the hotel Wednesday, the political reporters who attended were handed a four-page glossy brochure with a property overview, accomodations listings, amenities, photos of guest rooms, the grand atrium and “The Spa by Ivanka Trump.” | |
| Brand promotion is perhaps not surprising for a candidate who kicked off his campaign at the Trump Tower in Manhattan. Nearly 20 years ago, when Mr. Trump contemplated running for president in 2000, he boasted that he might be the first candidate to run for the White House and actually make money doing it. (He made the remark in reference to paid speeches he was giving in cities where he was exploring whether to run.) | Brand promotion is perhaps not surprising for a candidate who kicked off his campaign at the Trump Tower in Manhattan. Nearly 20 years ago, when Mr. Trump contemplated running for president in 2000, he boasted that he might be the first candidate to run for the White House and actually make money doing it. (He made the remark in reference to paid speeches he was giving in cities where he was exploring whether to run.) |
| For a time in the 2016 race, that remark was prescient: Mr. Trump used money raised from campaign donors to pay for his private aircraft, to reimburse his children for expenses, and to buy copies of his first book, “The Art of the Deal.” | For a time in the 2016 race, that remark was prescient: Mr. Trump used money raised from campaign donors to pay for his private aircraft, to reimburse his children for expenses, and to buy copies of his first book, “The Art of the Deal.” |
| But Mr. Trump’s brand has taken some nicks during the course of a slashing campaign in which he has repeatedly made incendiary remarks about women, Muslims, immigrants and African-Americans. There are efforts afoot to take his name off several residential towers he built years ago on the West Side of Manhattan. | But Mr. Trump’s brand has taken some nicks during the course of a slashing campaign in which he has repeatedly made incendiary remarks about women, Muslims, immigrants and African-Americans. There are efforts afoot to take his name off several residential towers he built years ago on the West Side of Manhattan. |
| For Republicans like Mr. Madden, Mr. Trump’s recent behavior is only confirming long-harbored suspicions that the candidate sees the campaign for the highest office in the country as an advertising soapbox for the Trump brand. | For Republicans like Mr. Madden, Mr. Trump’s recent behavior is only confirming long-harbored suspicions that the candidate sees the campaign for the highest office in the country as an advertising soapbox for the Trump brand. |
| Not everyone sees a downside to his behavior. | Not everyone sees a downside to his behavior. |
| Rob Gleason, the Republican Party chairman in Pennsylvania, shrugged off questions about the candidate’s schedule. | Rob Gleason, the Republican Party chairman in Pennsylvania, shrugged off questions about the candidate’s schedule. |
| “He’s been here a lot in Pennsylvania,” Mr. Gleason said, adding that Mr. Trump was simply showcasing “positive things that he’s been able to do.” | “He’s been here a lot in Pennsylvania,” Mr. Gleason said, adding that Mr. Trump was simply showcasing “positive things that he’s been able to do.” |
| “That’s why people like him,” he said. “That’s the change message that we’re trying to get across.” | “That’s why people like him,” he said. “That’s the change message that we’re trying to get across.” |