The eldest Trump kids headed to Aspen for spring break this week - and some wealthy locals were not pleased
Trump's eldest - Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric - descended on the resort with their partners, children, and about 100 Secret Service agents this week, according to the Aspen Times. The president, his wife, Melania, and the two youngest children in the Trump clan, Tiffany and Barron, did not attend.
This Colorado ski resort has been a playground for the rich and famous for decades. With four surrounding ski areas, countless trendy restaurants, bars, and mega-mansions, it has hosted some of America's most elite crowd, including the Obamas, Jay Z and Beyoncé, and plenty of wealthy New Yorkers.
According to CNN, the Trump family has a long history of vacationing in Aspen. Ivana Trump, the president's first wife and mother of his three eldest, was a competitive skier in the Czech Republic and often took the children skiing in Aspen. Donald Trump Jr. also lived there for a year, CNN reported.
But this week's family vacation caused quite a stir.
"They're everywhere. There are so many of them," a New York mother vacationing at the time told Vanity Fair. "Everyone is complaining. Everyone is annoyed."
The sheer size of the Trump group and the tight security meant that getting a reservation at local restaurants was tough, and traffic was much worse than usual, Vanity Fair reported.
Some residents staged an impromptu protest on the town's Main Street on Sunday morning to voice their opposition to Trump's proposed budget cuts, the Denver Post reported. Local county commissioners also took out a full-page ad in both the Aspen Daily News and the Aspen Times to welcome the family to the area and urge them to enact climate-friendly policies.
It is not clear yet how much of the trip was funded by taxpayer dollars, but according to the Aspen Times, the US Secret Service signed a contract for more than $12,000 last week with a ski rental equipment and clothing company.