Trump gets cool reception as protesters welcome his return to New York City

Before Donald Trump, no native New Yorker had served as president in more than a century. So did the city burst with pride when he returned home on Thursday? Fuggedaboutit.

The 45th President travelled to his hometown for the first time since his inauguration in a brief visit that underscored the ambivalent relationship between the city and its not-so-prodigal son.

Along the West Side Highway, near where Mr. Trump was set to dine with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, several hundred protesters clanged pots and pans, banged drums and shouted slogans.

At Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue – Mr. Trump's long-time home, where his wife, Melania, and youngest son, Barron, continue to live – a separate demonstration unfolded Thursday evening.

"Trump is a New Yorker but he has disregarded what it means to be a New Yorker," said medical student Marco Rosales, 24, citing the city's embrace of people of all different backgrounds.

Mr. Rosales, who was participating in his first-ever protest, said he felt an obligation to let Mr. Trump know he wasn't welcome in their shared hometown. The son of Honduran immigrants and a practising Muslim, Mr. Rosales held a sign saying he was "Trump's nightmare."

The protesters seemed energized by the idea that they might actually glimpse Mr. Trump. "I want to see this guy to tell him what for," said retiree Jean Daniels, 65, as she banged loudly on a metal pan. "This is a bizarro presidency – and not in a funny way."

For Mr. Trump, who has recently expressed nostalgia for his pre-presidential life, it was not exactly a warm embrace. Despite his roots here, Mr. Trump fared poorly in this heavily Democratic city in November's election, winning less than a fifth of the vote. He won only one of New York's five boroughs – Staten Island.

Since the election, protests against Mr. Trump have been a regular occurrence, together with other slights aimed at the new President. Three apartment buildings on the Hudson River that bore Mr. Trump's name – but which he no longer owned – had the large gilded letters removed after residents launched a petition to complain.

New York officials, meanwhile, have objected to the costs involved in providing security for Mr. Trump and his family members. Lawmakers in Washington recently agreed to spend an additional $120-million (U.S.) to protect the Trump family, which includes reimbursing local governments in New York, Florida and New Jersey, where Mr. Trump has properties.

A fresh set of tensions emerged last month when Mr. Trump's Justice Department issued a statement calling New York "soft on crime." New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called the statement "outrageous" and challenged Mr. Trump to repeat such a claim in person to the city's police officers. Mr. de Blasio was not scheduled to meet the President during his visit Thursday.

The last native New Yorker to occupy the White House was Theodore Roosevelt. Before Mr. Trump became a candidate for president, he was known in the city as a showman who excelled at marketing himself.

"No one knew his politics prior to his running," said George Arzt, a Democratic political consultant and former aide to New York Mayor Ed Koch. "Now either people shake their heads or mouth some epithets."

At Trump Tower, a small but determined group of Mr. Trump's supporters were eager to demonstrate their devotion to the President. "I'm really proud, he did a great job in his first 100 days," said Malka Shahar, 53, of Brooklyn. She carried an American flag and a sign reading "God Bless President Trump." "I'm here to say hi to him," said Ms. Shahar.

But Mr. Trump never made it to the tower that bears his name. His time in New York was truncated after he stayed in Washington longer than expected to celebrate the passage of a bill by the House of Representatives to roll back his predecessor's health-care system.

After arriving in the city, Mr. Trump went straight to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, a decommissioned aircraft carrier docked at a pier on the Hudson River. There he met with Australia's Mr. Turnbull and delivered remarks at an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea, a key naval battle of the Second World War.

Following a dinner reception, Mr. Trump was scheduled to depart for the golf club that he owns in Bedminster, N.J. After being away from New York for more than three months – the longest such absence of his adult life, friends said – his return amounted to a matter of just a few hours.

In that regard, at least, Mr. Trump may have earned the gratitude of New Yorkers for keeping the disruption of traffic to a minimum. In a recent interview with Fox News, Mr. Trump said he had travelled to his golf clubs rather than returning to the city because "I hate to see the New Yorkers with the streets closed."