Joelle Fredman
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) The creator of the television show “House of Cards” is urging people to call the Trump Hotel in Washington to ask when the President-Elect will be selling it.
Beau Willimon, the man behind the show and this initiative, tweeted his request this morning, along with a script of what to say to the hotel.
Willimon wrote the following:
The Trump Hotel in Washington D.C. is only blocks away from the White House.
If Trump does not sell the hotel he will profit from diplomats, lobbyists and special interests seeking to curry favor with his administration, or who hope avoid retaliation for giving business to his competitors.
The hotel’s property is also leased to Trump by the federal government, creating a second layer of conflict.
By flooding the hotel with calls we can apply both public and media pressure for Trump to sell the hotel – the only surefire way to prevent such conflicts of interest.
The following number is publicly listed on the hotel website, so it is perfectly fine for you to share this number with others via email or social media.
PHONE SCRIPT
- Call 202.695.1100
- When reception answers: “Hello, I’m interested in staying at your hotel but feel uncomfortable doing so while there is a conflict of interest with the incoming administration. Can you please tell me when the Trump Organization plans to sell the hotel?”
- If Reception says something like, “I don’t know,” or “I’m sorry, we don’t have that information,” ask if you can speak to a Manager. If they refuse to put you through to a manager, ask if they will connect you to someone at the Trump Organization in New York who has this information.
- If they connect you to a Manager or to the Trump Organization (highly unlikely), repeat the question in in number 2.
- Do not hang up. Keep trying until they hang up on you.
Finally, remember to be POLITE. Don’t bully or use foul language. The folks at reception are just doing their jobs. It’s not their fault that Trump is profiting from conflicts of interest. The goal is to have enough incoming calls that the message gets kicked up to their bosses, and eventually reaches the press and Trump himself.
Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (photo: Beau Willimon Twitter)
