Trump supporters are being asked to donate $3million to buy the outgoing president’s childhood home in New York to give him as a leaving present – but only $85 has been pledged on the first day of fundraising.
The unusual move would see the five-bedroom house in Jamaica Estates handed to the president as a gift but only once the hefty price is met.
It would also solve a problem for the vendor as the house has been sold twice since 2016 and has yet to fetch anything like £3million despite its links to the president.
Just before his 2017 inauguration it was sold for about $1.4million – about 78 per cent higher than when it sold in 2008 for only $782,000.
The buyer then sold it to the most recent owner for $2.14million at auction.
The president had previously expressed interest in buying the property after he was shown an image of it on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show.
President Donald Trump’s childhood home, located in the affluent Jamaica Estates neighborhood in New York’s Queens borough, is for sale
The property in Queens, already sold twice since 2016, is back on the market. One of the bedrooms is pictured above
The yellow, mock-Tudor house features five bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. A bedroom with a bunk bed is pictured above
The exterior of the property in the affluant Jamaica Estates neighborhood of Queens, New York is pictured on Wednesday
‘Love Trump?’ the fund-raiser, which kicked off Tuesday, reads ‘Thank President Trump by contributing to this campaign to buy his childhood home in his honor!’
Paramount real estate agent Misha Haghani said ‘It is more likely that one million people who love Trump would each give three dollars, rather than a wealthy buyer giving three million.’
He added: Technically, he could accept the home and say ‘Great, I just got another property to add to my empire,’ but he’s not going to do that. I believe if the president were to accept the property, he would do something with it in honor of his presidency. It’s either that or he’ll just donate it to some charity.’
Paramount Realty agency on Tuesday launched a fundraiser on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe, calling on Trump fans to contribute towards the goal of reaching $3 million. The property’s living area is pictured above
The agency had recently tried to sell the house, located in the affluent Jamaica Estates neighborhood in New York’s Queens borough, for $3 million at classic auctions, but without success. The kitchen is pictured above
The property’s bathroom with blue tiles and a shell-shaped sink is pictured above
One of the property’s bathrooms is pictured above with salmon pink tiling, a bath and a standing shower
One of the single bedrooms is pictured above, apparently a boy’s room complete with a computer and a soccer ball pillow
The property’s breakfast table is pictured above next to a sliding door that leads into the conservatory
Based on his real estate criteria, the mock Tudor five bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom house – where Trump lived until age four, when he moved to a more affluent home nearby — is barely worth more than $1 million.
But its ‘intangible value’ makes it ‘unique,’ Haghani said.
And now that the former real estate mogul is about to leave the White House in January, buying the house is ‘almost like a thank you or a going away present for those who do love him,’ Haghani explained.
The goal is to capitalize on the fervor sparked by the ‘polarizing’ leader, he said.
Trump, who changed his state of residence to Florida from New York in October 2019, was not consulted for the house project. Above, Trump is pictured on Tuesday
It was previously listed on Airbnb, starting at $816 a night. ‘This is a unique and special opportunity to stay in the home of a sitting president,’ the listing stated. A cardboard cutout of Trump is pictured in the living room
The house was built by Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, for his wife Mary and his family in 1940
The exterior of the property is pictured above. A day after the GoFundMe went live, the fundraiser had received $85 of donations
One of the bedrooms is pictured above with wooden flooring, a carpet, a single bet and windows
Trump, who changed his state of residence to Florida from New York in October 2019, was not consulted for the house project, Haghani added.
Even if he no longer wants the house – though he said he would like to buy it when it went on sale in 2016 – his fans wouldn’t have invested for nothing: the GoFundMe page states the house would then go to a charity chosen by Trump.
And if he doesn’t choose a charity, ‘we will make a selection for him,’ Haghani said.
The house was built by Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, for his wife Mary and his family in 1940.
The elder Trump developed numerous homes in the Jamaica Estates area.
The yellow, mock-Tudor house features five bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms.
The property’s study is pictured above with bookshelves, a glass cabinet and a desk
The study is pictured above. It was previously listed on Airbnb, starting at $816 a night. ‘This is a unique and special opportunity to stay in the home of a sitting president,’ the listing stated
The house was built by Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, for his wife Mary and his family in 1940. The property’s exterior is pictured above
The property’s sitting room is pictured above with a mat, wooden flooring and a grey sofa
The house conservatory is pictured above with a door leading to the back garden
It was previously listed on Airbnb, starting at $816 a night. ‘This is a unique and special opportunity to stay in the home of a sitting president,’ the listing stated.
The Airbnb listing, which has since been removed, featured an almost lifesize cardboard cutout of Trump in the living room.
Into the house the person listed as the Airbnb ‘host’ had packed 14 beds and two sofa beds, meaning it could sleep up to 16 people.
The Airbnb listing went on to describe the property, saying: ‘Not much has been changed since the Trumps lived here, the kitchen is original and the opulent furnishings represent the style and affluence in which the Trumps would have lived.’
In June 2019, Trump discussed the childhood home with late night TV comedian Jimmy Fallon.
After being shown an image of the house during the Tonight Show last year, the president said: ‘That’s sad to look at that, I want to buy it’
‘My parents were very strict and good and loving, they were fantastic parents,’ Trump said, adding that he had had a ‘really good’ childhood
After being shown an image of the house during the Tonight Show, the president said: ‘That’s sad to look at that, I want to buy it.’
‘My parents were very strict and good and loving, they were fantastic parents,’ Trump reminisced, adding that he had had a ‘really good’ childhood.
‘Sorry buddy, I’m making you wistful,’ Fallon replied.
The house has already sold twice since 2016, after Paramount Realty USA announced in December that year that an anonymous investor had purchased the property. According to public records, the property sold that month for $1.39 million.
The current owner’s identity is shrouded behind a limited company called Trump Birth House but it is believed they could be from China.
For several years it has remained largely empty. In November 2019, it was offered for sale again by Paramount, with another stunt – this time to guess the correct sale price – but it remained unsold.