Trump fans left disappointed by subdued victory celebrations at Mar-a-lago
THE cheers from the crowd grew louder and louder in the grand ballroom of Mar-a-lago as Donald Trump claimed state after state in the Republican primary contest on Super Tuesday.
Hundreds of his supporters, dressed in a mixture of ball gowns and MAGA caps, had packed into the former president’s private club on Palm Beach to watch the results.
If they had hoped to hear him revel in his string of decisive wins over a humiliated Nikki Haley, they were left disappointed.
When Mr Trump finally entered the room – alone and hours after the party began – he seemed subdued.
He mouthed “thank you” to the crowd, separated from him by a line of metal barriers, on his way to the stage.
Once there, he only briefly mentioned the theme of the night: his large margin of victory over Ms Haley among the Republican base in almost every state to vote.
“There’s never been one like this,” he said of Super Tuesday, his impassive expression at odds with the exuberance of his words. “This was an amazing night, an amazing day.”
He made no mention of Ms Haley, but quickly switched focus to his likely rematch with Joe Biden in November. From there, it was onto a darker, angrier speech. “We’ve watched our country take a great beating over the last three years,” he said, describing America’s “open borders” under the Democratic president. There were boos from the crowd.
The tone was redolent of Mr Trump’s insurgent bid in 2016, marked by sinister warnings and a fondness for verbal tangents.
Just as he tapped into the public’s grievances to fuel his first White House run, Mr Trump has identified concerns over immigration as his best route back to Washington in 2024.
“We have millions of people invading our country,” he said. “This is an invasion. This is the worst invasion, probably.” “That’s right,” a man at the back of the room yelled back.
Earlier, supporters had hoped for a long night of celebration. Waiters in smart black waistcoats circulated with canapes. The drinks flowed. Byron Donalds, a Florida congressman, predicted the party would be going until the “wee hours”.
Women decked out in sequin dresses and suits filmed themselves on iphones sauntering through the room’s marble archways.
A group wearing biker vests embroidered in gold with “born to ride” and “Donald J Trump” took turns taking selfies.
Forgiato Blow, 39, a self-proclaimed pioneer of “MAGA rap”, was wearing his own customised jewellery, showing off a diamante-style “MAGA” ring and heavy gold necklace with a large pendant of Donald Trump’s face.
A regular performer at Trump events, here in Mar-a-lago he was merely a spectator. “I’m here to celebrate [that] Trump is going to be the 47th president,” the rapper said.
One potential stumbling block, highlighted by the night’s exit polls, is the lingering threat of Mr Trump’s conviction in one of the four criminal cases he faces. Significant numbers of Republican voters in Virginia, North Carolina and California all said Mr Trump would not be fit to be commander-in-chief if found guilty.
Perhaps Mr Trump had been mulling those polling figures before he appeared at his party. He rattled through a familiar list of grievances, attacking Mr Biden for his looming trials, which he claims are politically motivated, and the crisis unfolding on the Us-mexico border.
“We’re a third-world country at our borders, and we’re a third-world country at our elections,” he said.
Barely 20 minutes after he’d begun, Mr Trump was done for the night. “Our country is dying,” he said as his exit music started up, “we’re going to make America great again”.
He quit the stage before his biggest win of Super Tuesday – California, with 169 delegates – had even been called. Soon after, the ballroom began to empty out. After hours of build up, the party was over just as it had promised to begin.
‘We’re a third-world country at our borders, and we’re a third-world country at our elections’
‘We have millions of people invading our country… This is the worst invasion, probably’