BALTIMORE _ Landing by helicopter Thursday night in Port Covington, President Donald Trump arrived in the city he infamously insulted as "rodent infested," where he appropriately enough was greeted by a 14-foot inflatable rat among the protesters rallying at his destination: a Republican gathering at the Waterfront Marriott in Harbor East.
The Marine One helicopter touched down in a field about 6:30 p.m. EDT. The president climbed down the stairs alone and walked slowly to the motorcade, waving at the assembled media. A group of people stood outside a nearby Under Armour building and watched.
Within 10 minutes, the motorcade was speeding through blocked-off streets during a most unusual rush hour, passing protesters shouting expletives and people holding up their phones. There was a "Dump Trump" sign and one with a heart next to the name of U.S. Rep Elijah Cummings, the Democratic Baltimore lawmaker sharply criticized by Trump.
Meanwhile, the president tweeted a message to the city, with a photo from the motorcade: "Hello, Baltimore!"
U.S. Secret Service and Capitol Police had been busy in advance of the visit, conducting security sweeps Thursday morning in Harbor East, where Trump was scheduled to speak to the House Republicans at the start of their three-day retreat.
The inflatable rat, complete with the Republican president's signature lengthy red tie, came to town with Claude Taylor, a Twitter-famous provocateur who said it's been coast to coast, even to Trump's Palm Beach, Fla., club.
"The rat's been in Newport Beach, California, on a boat, it's been on the Potomac on a boat," Taylor said. "It's been most notably docked off Mar-a-Lago."
Taylor, whose Mad Dog PAC promotes liberal causes, parked the rat on President Street, which he renamed with an official-looking, green-and-white sign affixed underneath the existing one. The new sign read "President Barack Obama Ave." A couple of "Baby Trump" balloons also floated above the scene.
While Baltimore has long been heavily Democratic _ voting overwhelmingly for Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, in 2016 _ the president antagonized residents in July when he attacked Cummings and called his 7th District "disgusting, rat and rodent infested." Trump kept the uproar roiling by continuing the put-downs, alleging without evidence that billions of dollars in federal aid to the city had been "wasted" and "stolen."
While protesters and security officials descended on Harbor East, some employees of Legg Mason and other companies in the high-end commercial district either worked from home or left their offices as early as 2 p.m. to avoid an anticipated traffic nightmare caused by a presidential motorcade wending through downtown at rush hour.
The city Department of Transportation warned commuters to expect "heavy traffic volumes" downtown between 4 and 8:30 p.m. and leave work early, if possible.
"Motorists should avoid the downtown area south of Baltimore Street between Martin Luther King Boulevard to North Central Avenue," the department's traffic advisory said. "Temporary intersection closures may occur in the afternoon and early evening hours which will cause congestion and delays."
This is the first Republican retreat since the GOP lost their House majority in the 2018 midterm elections. The three-day retreat includes sessions _ featuring House members and experts _ on health care, the economy and other topics. Speakers on Friday include Vice President Mike Pence at lunch and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at dinner. Among those scheduled to speak to the members Friday was former NFL player Herschel Walker, co-chair of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition.
The sessions are closed to the public and media, although Trump's Thursday night speech was to be livestreamed on the conference organizer's Facebook page.
The retreat and its high-profile visitor made for an unusual weekday in the neighborhood. Jenny Greenberg Cook, who works at Creative Financial Staffing in the Legg Mason building near the hotel, said she arrived at work to find the garage where she parks nearly empty.
"No one's there," she said.
Cook, 32, a Republican who grew up in Homeland and now lives in Glen Arm, said she was excited for the GOP president's visit to the city, just weeks after he called Baltimore a "mess" where "no human being would want to live."
"He needs to come here," she said. "He needs to show his face and address the issues in person. ... His presence says enough," Cook said.
Her co-worker, Briana Heartzberg, 30, a Democrat who lives in Federal Hill, said she hopes Trump sees Harbor East and "sees the area is not a rat-infested dump."
But she didn't think he'd use his speech to congressional Republicans to discuss the city's struggles.
"I don't think he's going to focus at all on Baltimore," she said.
Cook noted that the president's comments weren't focused on Harbor East, but on the poorer neighborhoods of the city where trash and rats are real problems.
She suggested that Trump should stop to see those areas while he is here in the city.
"I don't think he'll stop," she said. "But I wouldn't put it past him."
Mark Hagerstrom, 66, a retired economist and Los Angeles Dodgers fan who lives in Washington, planned to watch his team play the Orioles at Camden Yards with a pair of friends Thursday evening. They planned to move their car before the afternoon, as their hotel concierge suggested, to make sure they wouldn't get stuck in the motorcade traffic.
"We get enough of this in D.C.," he said. "No sense in waiting around for it."
