Trump resort’s high season will see fewer galas
PALM BEACH, Fla. — It’s November, which means President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago is reopening after being closed during the brutal heat and humidity of Florida’s summer. If last season is a guide, the president will soon visit his Winter White House, staying several days at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s and then return many more weekends until May.
But he will find a major difference this season. Because of the outcry that followed Trump’s remarks in connection with a white nationalist rally, Mar-a-Lago will host many fewer galas: about 20 charities have canceled or moved their events, with only a few newcomers taking their place.
Trump caused an uproar after blaming the violence that erupted in Charlottesville, Va., on both sides: on the white nationalists who came to protest the removal of a Confederate statue from a city park and on the counterprotesters who opposed them. A counterprotester was killed.
Since Mar-a-Lago’s grand ballroom opened more than 20 years ago, it has annually hosted numerous charity galas between Thanksgiving and Easter, the time of year Palm Beach’s wealthy part-time residents flock south from colder climes.
But there won’t be many galas at Mar-a-Lago this season. Several major national charities moved or canceled their fundraisers after Trump’s Charlottesville comments, including the American Cancer Society, Cleveland Clinic, the International Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the breast cancer organization Susan G. Komen. Many cited the diversity of their donors and clients for their decision while acknowledging they might take a financial hit. Others, including the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, canceled earlier under pressure from antiTrump donors and protesters.
Neither Mar-a-Lago managing director Bernd Lembcke nor Trump Organization spokeswoman Amanda Miller returned calls seeking comment.