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Meanwhile, the president and first lady Melania Trump are renovating their private rooms at Mar-a-Lago to prepare for a permanent return. And with a view to their political future, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump reportedly bought a multi-million dollar property in an exclusive area of Miami. The Trump boys plan to spend more time in Palm Beach, unless Eric’s wife, Lara Trump, ends up running for Senate in North Carolina, according to a person close to the family.
Taken together, the moves will inevitably make the Palm Beach and Florida area ground zero for the MAGA movement, giving Trump convenient access to potential donors and some of his most devoted allies as he plans a potential return offer by 2024. Unlike previous presidents, such as Barack Obama and George W. Bush, who quietly entered their post-presidency and spent time working on their books or collecting oil paintings, Trump is expected to enter his next chapter maintaining a grip on his base. politics. with the help of his family, antagonizing the Biden administration on Twitter and holding MAGA events. Supporters will continue to flock to Palm Beach, even as it upsets many long-time residents, who view its place as a quiet enclave above politics and are fighting the president for a permanent move to Mar-a-Lago.
“You’re seeing a lot of conservative influencers talking about Florida and you’re creating an environment where … people are looking for safe havens where their ideology plays out in the world around them,” said Blair Brandt, Palm Beach-based political consultant . and Republican fundraiser who served as Florida’s co-chair of finance for Trump’s re-election campaign.
The president’s anticipated move to Palm Beach is part of a larger move by prominent Republicans supporting Trump to head south to Florida. According to Bloomberg, real estate inventory in Palm Beach is down 75 percent due to high demand, and the island’s exclusive clubs, such as Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, have long waiting lists.
Some prominent Trump allies and conservatives recently moved to South Florida, including conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who moved from Los Angeles, and Fox News star Tucker Carlson, who is a legal resident of Florida. Radio host Rush Limbaugh has a home in Palm Beach, and Trump-friendly Newsmax, run by Chris Ruddy, an old friend of Trump, is based in West Palm Beach.
Trump has long reveled in the attention lavished on him at his Mar-a-Lago Club, which has become a destination for fans and a place for the president’s allies to see and be seen. Last week, Turning Point USA held their gala gala at the resort, a Trumpworld who’s who, with White House officials like press secretary Kayleigh McEnany taking selfies with young fans without a mask.
However, during his most recent visit, the president did not mingle with guests the way he has in the past and kept mostly to himself, according to a club member. Some members shelled out $ 1,200 for tickets to the New Years Eve gala at the club, hoping to catch a glimpse of the president and first lady and be entertained by 1990s rapper Vanilla Ice, but were disappointed when the president suddenly decided to return. early to Washington for reasons. unknown.
But now that his term is running out, the expanded Mar-a-Lago neighborhood is expected to become the new home of the Trump movement in exile.
Trump “adds a star quality there on a much more permanent basis,” said former White House press secretary and Newsmax host Sean Spicer. “The idea that Florida Republicans have good access to the president is very important. Having the president’s star power is a big deal and Palm Beach is already a massive fundraising destination for Republican candidates. “
Brandt noted that his work as a fundraiser, connecting wealthy conservatives in Palm Beach with the Republican Party, will get a welcome jolt with Trump constantly around.
“It’s going to translate the power of the presidency into a political machine, something that no one has done before in the Trump way,” Brandt said. “But having someone like Trump who is an operator and needs things to do could be really influential for the Republican fundraiser.”
But while Republican operatives in Florida are happy to orbit near the new center of the Republican universe, many longtime residents are rolling their eyes. As they breathe a sigh of relief that traffic congestion due to road closures will come to an end, they are anxious about what Trump’s permanent presence could mean, including a possible presidential library and a museum that could become a tourist destination for him. MAGA world. . A Trump adviser even envisioned some kind of Trump-themed amusement park.
“I completely understand why he and his entire family want to be in Florida,” said Matthew Swift, a Palm Beach resident and founder of Concordia Summit, a nonpartisan organization. “The president is incredibly popular here,” he noted, but added, “people are certainly curious about how the development of a presidential library and any other centers that the president plans to develop will work.”
Whatever happens, Trump will still have a Secret Service detail, but not the kind of security footprint, with barriers and no-fly zones, that comes with being a sitting president.
Even before Trump formally moves to Palm Beach, some potential neighbors have already raised concerns that he will live in what he calls his “Winter White House” full time, claiming that he agreed not to use the club as a long-term residence. full. In the past, the president has clashed with the city over planes flying over the club, and is expected to clash with the community over the use of his helipad on the property.
Several people close to Trump said that even though renovations are underway at the club, the small size of his space at Mar-a-Lago could push him to look for another property in Palm Beach, and they hope he will buy a separate house in the island. .
Yet some Palm Beach residents, even those who are Trump supporters, say that, at the end of the day, nothing will really change.
Palm Beach has always been a place above politics, so to speak. It’s not about Democrats or Republicans or Rush Limbaugh or whatever, ”said Guido Lombardi, a Mar-a-Lago member and a Palm Beach resident. “Some people here cater to personalities that they feel they should shake hands with.”
