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Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference

Coordinates: 40°01′34″N 75°01′48″W / 40.0262°N 75.0301°W / 40.0262; -75.0301
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Itisdiplomatic (talk | contribs) at 08:13, 9 November 2020 (Removal of projection statement before official declaration of states and district.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

40°01′34″N 75°01′48″W / 40.0262°N 75.0301°W / 40.0262; -75.0301

Four Seasons Total Landscaping is a small landscaping company in the Holmesburg neighborhood of northeastern Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. On November 7, 2020, Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City and attorney for incumbent president Donald J. Trump, hosted a news conference at the company's garage door and parking lot to discuss the status of the campaign's legal challenges to the ballot-counting process in Pennsylvania, where Trump's early lead over Joe Biden in that year's presidential election had shifted to a shortfall as mailed-in ballots in historically heavily Democratic Philadelphia were counted.

Shortly after Giuliani began talking to the assembled reporters, the Associated Press projected Biden as the winner of the Pennsylvania vote and thus that year's presidential election. Several news outlets characterized the event as the end of Trump's presidency, although he had not conceded the election and his campaign's legal actions continued.[1][2]

Background

After Election Day on November 3, 2020, Philadelphia election officials had set up absentee ballot counting efforts in the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City, as downtown Philadelphia is known locally. The streets in the area had been filled with demonstrators supporting both candidates.

On November 5, campaign spokespeople Corey Lewandowski and Pam Bondi had attempted to talk to the media just outside the Convention Center about a court ruling that allowed campaign observers to stand closer to the counting tables. Pro-Biden demonstrators nearby played Beyonce's "Party" so loudly that Bondi could not be heard.[3] Lewandowski decided the Trump campaign needed to find a venue where such disruption was less likely, in a part of the city where voters had been more supportive of his candidacy.[4]

Early on November 7, Trump tweeted the location of the press conference as "Four Seasons". Shortly afterwards he issued another tweet, clarifying that the venue was Four Seasons Total Landscaping.[4] According to The New York Times, Trump's team had intended to hold the press conference at the landscapers, but the president thought they meant the upscale Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia in Center City. "In reality, the mistake was not in the booking, but in a garbled game of telephone," The New York Times wrote.[5][6] At 10:45 a.m., the hotel verified that the event was at the landscapers.[4]

PBS reporter Daniel Bush said an unnamed company representative told him the Trump campaign called and said their location "was close to an exit on I-95, and was secure, and that's why they wanted to use it."[5] The local Republican ward leader told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he had not been notified in advance, and that neither Four Seasons' owner Marie Siravo nor anyone in her family were particularly involved in local politics. She had expressed support for Trump on a Facebook page in August, but was not exceptionally vocal, saying "we don't need to invite him for dinner".[4]

Event

Journalists who arrived took note of the surrounding industrial park. "It was in that part of town that every town has, where businesses which have no right being grouped together nonetheless gather due to one reason or another—usually the cheap rent" observed the British newspaper The Independent. Across the street was a sex shop and crematorium. Before the news conference began, a journalist present announced that CNN had just projected Biden's victory.[1]

Around the back, in Four Seasons' parking lot, a lectern had been set up in front of a garage door papered over with Trump campaign signs in red and blue. Speakers and microphone had been installed. Giuliani and Lewandowski came in with a group of people the former identified as poll watchers whom they said had been prevented from properly observing the counting procedure.[3] He did not offer any explanation as to why the news conference was being held at this location.[4]

Guiliani said that Philadelphia "has a sad history of voter fraud" including ballots submitted by dead people, specifically boxer Joe Frazier and actor Will Smith's father, and that "[t]here certainly is enough evidence to disqualify a certain number of ballots."[5] Reporters interrupted to say that all of the major news networks were now joining in projecting Biden's victory. Giuliani responded by looking heavenward and striking a pose of mock crucifixion, saying, "Come on, don't be ridiculous. Networks don't get to decide elections. Courts do."[7] As he spoke, some reporters began packing their equipment and leaving, before he had finished or allowed the poll watchers to speak.[3]

Aftermath

Several of the media outlets who had covered the news conference pronounced it the effective end of the Trump presidency.[2][3][7] The Independent likened it to an appearance by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi driving a golf cart and carrying a large umbrella as NATO forces began bombing the country to support a 2011 rebellion. "It was intended to project perseverance and strength—it had the opposite effect."[1]

The event drew ridicule and parody on social media, where it was assumed the Trump campaign had simply made a mistake with the booking. Yelp users posted reviews, activating an “Unusual Activity” alert, which temporarily disabled the posting of content to the page pending investigation determining the legitimacy of the views, and Saturday Night Live's Kate McKinnon mentioned Four Seasons in an appearance as Giuliani on the show's "Weekend Update" news segment.[8]

Following the press conference, Four Seasons Total Landscaping posted on Instagram thanking police for their participation. "Would like to thank the fabulous Philadelphia men and women in blue making this event a safe place," they wrote. The company's Instagram bio describes the firm as a "woman-owned, minority business… that does great landscaping & perfect snow removal" and is "trying to make America green again!"[9]

Visitors came to the building to take pictures of themselves with the company gates and logo in the background.[4] On November 8, Four Seasons announced it would begin selling T-shirts and other merchandise through its website the next day.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c Hall, Richard (November 8, 2020). "I saw Donald Trump's presidency come crashing down at Four Seasons Total Landscaping". The Independent. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Markay, Lachlan; Suebsaeng, Asawin; Stein, Sam (November 7, 2020). "The End of the Line for Trumpland Is a Poorly Rated Sex Shop in North Philly". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Burns, Katelyn (November 8, 2020). "The Trump legal team's failed Four Seasons press conference, explained". Vox. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Roebuck, Jeremy; Hanna, Maddie; Goodin-Smith, Oona (November 8, 2020). "No, not that Four Seasons. How Team Trump's news conference ended up at a Northeast Philly landscaping firm". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "US Election 2020: Trump laywer Rudy Giuliani's Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference mistake goes viral". News.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Karni, Annie; Korasiniti, Nick (November 7, 2020). "Which Four Seasons? Oh, not that one". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Zak, Dan; Heller, Karen (November 8, 2020). "It began on a gold escalator. It may have ended at Four Seasons Total Landscaping". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  8. ^ Ciavaglia, Jo (November 8, 2020). "What we know about Four Seasons Total Landscaping, the most famous business in Philly today". Bucks County Courier Times. Levittown, Pennsylvania. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  9. ^ "Trump campaign appears to mistakenly book car park outside landscaping firm 'Four Seasons' for press conference". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 9 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Akim, Tanya (November 8, 2020). "Four Seasons Total Landscaping Just Dropped Branded Apparel". Forbes. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
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