A Trump-hating reporter snuck into Donald Trump's secret Seattle HQ

Donald Trump has a secret Seattle headquarters

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 18 May 2016

Donald Trump has a campaign office in Seattle, but its location is a closely guarded secret. Ana Sofia Knauf, a reporter for The Stranger, describes the secret Trump headquarters as being "in an unmarked storefront on Highway 99 near a couple of sex shops," where "the windows have been carefully covered with brown butcher paper so that no one can see in." Knauf, obviously no fan of Trump, says she was able to gain entry — for a day of working the Trump phone bank — because a friend was willing to jump through the hoops set up by Trump's Seattle gatekeeper, including emailing your name, phone number, and what Knauf calls "a loyalty oath" to Trump.

The gatekeeper, a man Knauf calls "Dirk" and describes as "a long-suffering libertarian" with "beady dark eyes and slicked-back hair," explained to her that the secrecy is because some Trump canvassers were pelted with rocks nearby and he doesn't want a brick through the window. She continues:

Dirk is definitely a dreamer — he's dreaming of a Trump victory in Washington State in November. He believes it's a real possibility. So Dirk is going to work diligently to try to make that happen — which is great news, because Dirk is going to waste a lot of energy and time, and hopefully a nice chunk of Trump's money (resources that could be used in vulnerable swing states), working for a candidate so hated by the people of Washington State that his office is effectively underground. [The Stranger]

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.