Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Trump attends Easter service in Palm Beach
Eager congregants craned their necks to see and stopped to talk with President Donald Trump and his family Sunday morning at an Easter church service in Palm Beach.
Trump sat adjacent to the aisle in a pew near the altar of the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, with U.S. Secret Service officers hovering nearby. He was accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, daughter Tiffany, and son Barron. Melania Trump’s parents were also there.
Trump started his day at the Weekend White House, tweeting “Happy Easter to everyone!”
Palm Beach is no stranger to presidential Easter visits. President John F. Kennedy spent his last Easter at his family’s estate in 1963. Kennedy attended Mass at St. Edward Catholic Church.
Trump’s church visit came after hundreds of people Saturday afternoon marched from West Palm Beach toward Mar-a-Lago, calling for the president to release his tax returns.
Sunday morning, the president answered in two tweets: “I did what was an almost an impossible thing to do for a Republican-easily won the Electoral College! Now Tax Returns are brought up again?”
In a separate tweet, Trump questioned who sponsored the rallies nationwide: “Someone should look into who paid for the small organized rallies yesterday. The election is over!”
He also sent tweets regarding China and North Korea and the military.
At Bethesda-by-the-Sea, attendees went through metal detectors to get inside. But Trump’s sudden entrance five minutes before the 11 a.m. service seemed to surprise many of those inside. People took photos, despite the urging of church staff not to, and held up young children to help them see.
The president gave a thumbs up to onlookers before sitting down for the service. Many in attendance lined up to say hello during a peace greeting, and some were turned away, or leaned down to talk with him while waiting for communion.
The church was the site of the president and first lady’s wedding in 2005. Trump attended Christmas and Easter services last year at the Palm Beach church.
Trump and his family left the church about 12:15 p.m., after communion and before the service ended. People waved from their pews as Rev. James R. Harlan walked with them toward a side exit.
The Trumps headed back to Mar-a-Lago after the church service to have their annual brunch and Easter egg hunt with Trump’s older sons Eric and Don Jr., and their families.
Donald Trump Jr. and his family strolled through the lot toward the red carpet. A few minutes later, Eric and Lara Trump walked in through a back entrance.
Guests at Mar-a-Lago wore and drove their Sunday best. A cavalcade of luxury vehicles was on the club grounds, including Rolls Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, Tesla, Cadillac and an off-white 1959 Rolls Royce convertible with whitewall tires.
Trump, his wife and other family members left on Air Force One to return to Washington, D.C., shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday. Donald Trump Jr. posted on Instagram that it was his first flight on Air Force One.
The president and first lady will host the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House on Monday.
This was Trump’s seventh trip to Palm Beach since his inauguration in January.
The president arrived Thursday evening in Palm Beach for a four-day, Easter holiday visit to Mar-a-Lago.
Trump visited his West Palm Beach property, the Trump International Golf Club, on Friday and Saturday.