Donald Trump flies back to New York every night to sleep in his own bed

(Image credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

published 8 January 2016

It takes about three and a half hours to fly from New York City to Des Moines, Iowa — a flight Donald Trump is intimately familiar with. Reuters reports that unlike virtually all other presidential candidates who choose to spend the night in hotels around the country while on the campaign trail, Trump gets back on his plane at the end of every day so he can sleep in his own bed in New York.

Trump's schedule this week [...] illustrates his tendency to get out of town quickly. On Monday evening he addressed a crowd in Lowell, Massachusetts, and was due to address a rally in Claremont, New Hampshire, just a couple of hours north the following day. Instead of overnighting in a hotel, he flew home. On Tuesday Trump flew to Claremont and then returned to New York. [Reuters]

"Trump is a man who likes to be on the couch with a good cheeseburger and likes to watch TV — he's a homebody [...] He likes being in his own bed, even if it means coming into Teterboro or LaGuardia after midnight," friend and pro-Trump Super PAC founder Roger Stone told Reuters.

Some strategists think Trump's affection for home could cost him votes. "Not everything in a presidential campaign can be accomplished with a speech or a rally [...] You attend a family event of a supporter in a key state: weddings, funerals, graduations, Christmas parties — these have an important psychological impact," chairman of the American Conservative Union Matt Schlapp said.

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But Trump defends his process, saying he needs time in his Manhattan office to run business — and his morning view of Central Park can't hurt, either. "It works very well for me," Trump said.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.