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What is 'The Donald'? Pro-Trump website rips DC's Hotel Harrington for canceling reservations ahead of Jan 6 protest

The website, thedonald.win, was created after the subreddit r/The_Donald was banned for violating Reddit rules on harassment and targeting

Supporters of President Donald Trump have a new spot to hang out at, glorify their idol, and make plans to aid in his desperate attempt to hold on to power after he lost the 2020 election - it's a subreddit-turned-website called 'The Donald.' 

While the website has been around for months, recent comments and threads posted on the website caught the mainstream media attention after they went viral on social media. The website recently filled up with angry rants after Hotel Harrington in Washington D.C., which has become a favorite haunt of the Proud Boys, a far-right group of Trump supporters, sent out a notice on Monday night announcing that it will be closed from January 4 to January 6 in a move intended to "protect the safety of our visitors, guests, and employees."

Right-wing groups have planned to demonstrate in Washington after Trump promised his supporters there would be a "wild" rally in Washington, DC, on January 6, the day when Congress is scheduled to meet to formally finalize the presidential election results. "Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election," Trump tweeted on December 19. "Big protest in DC on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"

The Trump supporters, who vowed to take to the streets on January 6 to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election in D.C. soon flocked to The Donald to express their outrage after their reservations were canceled by the hotel. 

"HOTEL HARRINGTON GOT CUCKED BY A BUNCH OF LOSER LIBERALS," wrote one poster. "HOTEL HARRINGTON HAS NO BACKBONE!" "F*CK HOTEL HARRINGTON," wrote another. "THEY CANCELED OUR ROOMS... THEN WE'LL CANCEL THEIR BUSINESS. NOBODY BOOK WITH THEM, THEY WILL F*CK YOU OVER!!!" "Hotel Harrington CANCELLED my reservation," wrote another disgruntled Trump fan. "F*CK THESE COWARDS!!!! I gave this lady an earful and the hotel GM as well."

What is The Donald?

The website originally was a subreddit where participants created discussions and memes in support of Trump. It was created in June 2015 following the announcement of Trump's presidential campaign,  and soon the community grew to over 790,000 subscribers who described themselves as "Patriots." It was ranked as one of the most active communities on Reddit. It had a long history of hosting conspiracy theory content that was racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, and antisemitic. On June 29, 2020, the community was banned for violating Reddit rules on harassment and targeting.

Reddit said that it banned the subreddit for frequent rule-breaking, for antagonizing the company and other communities, and for failing to "meet our most basic expectations." After the subreddit was quarantined and placed in a restricted mode in early 2020, moderators of r/The_Donald created and moved to the site thedonald.win. A number of users from the subreddit then flocked to it after the site was made public in the final months of the subreddit.

The website says, "Welcome to the forum of choice for The President of The United States, Donald Trump! Be advised this forum is for serious supporters of President Trump. We have discussions, memes, AMAs, and more. We are not politically correct."

The members of the website are also urged to abide by a set of rules that includes stress on following the federal laws, not posting racist content, no doxing, maintaining respect and no self-promotion. The last rule reads, "Don't be Dumb: Remember, you represent the movement against Globalism, Communism and Progressive Insanity. Your comments and posts may become news."