People Are Doing Weird Stuff At Trump Properties On Google Maps

“Look a little closer!”

By
Caroline Haskins
by Caroline Haskins

BuzzFeed News Reporter

A screenshot of a GIF posted in the Google Maps photo gallery of the White House South Lawn.

Donald Trump takes up a lot of space on the map. The Trump Organization owns or licenses its name to dozens of properties around the world, including several Trump Towers, Trump Plazas, Trump International Hotels, and Trump International Golf Clubs. All of these places are listed on Google Maps, where, as a way to assist with place descriptions, anyone with a Google account can submit a photo, video, or 360-degree panoramic view of what these places are like.

Most of the people who earnestly submit media for these places appear to be eager participants in the MAGA fandom that Trump cultivates. They often take selfies, or pose next to things that say “Trump” on them, and eagerly capture framed pictures of Trump and merchandise in his gift shop.

On the other hand, there are also some people just doing really weird stuff. We reviewed the user-contributed content on Google Maps for every Trump property that we could identify, plus other Trump-related locations such as the White House and his childhood home. Here are the strangest things we found.

1. Man Twirling Umbrella at the Trump National Doral Miami

This is a fun little GIF of a man in a little bathing suit twirling his umbrella at the Trump National Doral Miami on a rainy day. He appears to be at the resort.

2. Guy Sitting in Trash on the White House South Lawn

This is in the photo gallery for the White House South Lawn. If you have any information about how or why this photo was taken, please email the author of this piece.

3. Person Punching Bag at the Trump National Golf Club Charlotte

The Google Maps listing for the Trump National Golf Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, inexplicably has three short videos of a person punching and kicking a punching bag. It’s unclear whether this video was recorded at the club gym.

4. Cats Embracing on the White House South Lawn

How cute. This person has uploaded dozens of stock photos to the White House South Lawn, and this is one of them.

5. “Mujhe Tera Diwana Bana Diya” at the White House South Lawn

From what I've gathered, this is a 30-second clip of the song “Mujhe Tera Diwana Bana Diya” by Indian artist Acharya Shri Gaurav Krishna Goswami Ji. It is in the video gallery for the White House South Lawn.

6. Fortnite at the Trump Café at Trump Tower

The photo gallery for the Trump Café at Trump Tower in Manhattan mostly consists of questionable-looking food. But it also includes a screencap from Fortnite. Just because. The person who posted the image has also given thoughtful reviews to several businesses in Italy on Google Maps, indicating they probably don’t live in the United States.

7. Naked People at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas

Warning This image is graphic Tap to reveal Click to reveal

Lovely! The photo gallery for the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas includes not one but two pictures of a glass balcony with the reflection of naked bodies. There’s next to no chance that this was posted by accident. One photo is even labeled “Look a little closer!”

8. Naked People (Jacuzzi Version) at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas

In February 2018, a guy posted a 30-second video of himself smiling in a Jacuzzi. It was at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, the same place as Naked People Number One. Not sure what’s going on with this hotel.

9. “Obama’s Bathroom” Near Trump's Childhood Home

According to media reports, Donald Trump’s childhood home is 85-15 Wareham Place in Jamaica, Queens. Someone decided to designate an address on the corner of the street as “Obama’s Bathroom.” It was removed about a day after we found it. According to Google Street View, there are only residential homes at this location. Reminder: Trump kick-started his modern political career by promoting the false accusation that former president Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

10. The Trump Baby Balloon Floats by the Trump Turnberry

Trump Turnberry is Trump’s "Luxury Collection Resort" in Scotland. The Google Maps listing also contains four anti-Trump videos uploaded by the same user. Three of the videos show the Trump baby balloon, which was flown in protest of Trump’s visit to the United Kingdom in early 2018, around the time these videos were uploaded.

The balloon floats through three different scenes in three different videos: 1) It floats by an image of Trump, arms raised. 2) It hovers above the Trump Turnberry as Google Maps zooms in on the resort. 3) It floats past people working on the beach. A fourth video, posted by the same user, is a BBC news report about a visit Trump made to the resort.

11. Candace Owens and Virginia Women for Trump Speak at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC

Here, more explicit evidence of Trump’s political world leaks into the Google Maps listings for his properties. The Google Maps listing for the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, has a couple of clips from one or multiple conservative events that appear to have taken place there. In one video, far-right provocateur Candace Owens talks about the media’s unfair portrayal of Trump. In another video, a man talks about “liberal tears.” A third video shows women in flamboyant hats clapping while facing a banner that says “Virginia Women for Trump.”


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