Mar-a-Lago partied on without Trump or masks
President Donald Trump’s private social club in Palm Beach, Florida, hosted a New Year’s Eve gala at which revelers without masks dined indoors and danced to performances by Vanilla Ice and members of the Beach Boys.
Trump himself did not attend the black-tie party at the club, Mar-a-Lago, as he usually does, instead cutting short his holiday vacation and returning to Washington on Thursday without explanation.
But members of the president’s family and extended political circle partied on anyway at an event that flouted warnings against indoor gatherings during the holidays as the coronavirus surges to its deadliest levels yet. The gala also appeared to violate specific guidelines posted on the Palm Beach County website mandating facial coverings in “all businesses and establishments.”
Attendees included Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and his girlfriend, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle. Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer and a former New York mayor, was shown in online footage ballroom- dancing with a female partner to a rendition of “New York, New York.” More than 500 guests were expected, according to The Palm Beach Post.
Other guests included the president’s second son, Eric, and his wife, Lara; the president’s daughter Tiffany; Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.; and Mike Lindell, the Palm Beach-based chief executive of MyPillow and a prominent supporter of the president. Social media posts from the event also showed live performances by Teri Nunn, the lead singer of the 1970s and ‘80s new-wave band Berlin, famous for the song “Take My Breath Away,” and two members of the Beach Boys, who now perform without founding members Al Jardine and Brian Wilson.
A menu posted on Instagram by one attendee showed a first course of “Mr. Trump’s Wedge Salad,” followed by cheese tortellini and a wagyu beef entree.
Tickets to the event reportedly cost $1,000. Many were most likely sold days before the first news reports emerged on Wednesday that Trump would not attend.
One photo posted online by Eric Trump featured at least 15 party guests and one server in the background. Only the server wore a mask.