Want to meet with Trump? Talk to his security guard.

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

last updated 22 December 2016

There is not exactly a formal process in place if you want to secure a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump. All it might take, in fact, is knowing the right people. Namely, Trump's security guard, Keith Schiller.

Carl Paladino, the upstate New York developer and local political gadfly, was interested in catching up with Donald Trump in early December, so he rang up the president-elect's private security guard. The next day, on Dec. 5, Paladino found himself high in Trump Tower, recounting favorite moments from the campaign and gossiping about local politics with the president-elect for 45 minutes. [Politico]

Since winning the presidency, Trump has met with everyone from potential political appointees to celebrities. Sometimes the meetings are unexpected: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was recently summoned to Trump Tower for a 62-minute conversation. "No one knew why the meeting went that long," a person close to de Blasio told Politico. In another case, Rev. Al Sharpton hung up the phone on Trump's secretary when he received a call asking him to visit the Tower because he didn't think it was real.

"It's going to be more challenging if that's brought to the White House," said Craig Fuller, who served as former President George H.W. Bush's chief of staff. "There is a high demand of issues to bring to the White House. You can't just shoot from the hip, shall we say."

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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.