So it appears that @SpeakerPelosi is throwing a New Year’s Eve party inside @realDonaldTrump’s head. #IMPOTUS https://t.co/SlGNCSOqYY
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) January 1, 2020
Rudy talking about testifying in the Senate and representing Trump in the trial and turning it into a racketeering case (???) is the only way 2019 could have ended. pic.twitter.com/VxXgXRMRSl
— Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) January 1, 2020
Re: Trump at Mar-a-Lago: "The people around him are increasingly the true believers and it’s almost like a religious revival when he shows up there. They jump up and down, they shout, they scream his praises." https://t.co/tyWlEMJYhV
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 1, 2020
… Over the past three years, Trump has spent his days at Mar-a-Lago — which he calls “The Southern White House” — surrounded by an unpredictable cast of Palm Beach residents, wedding guests and the characters Trump invites down for a meeting or a round of golf. It’s often led to a more freewheeling atmosphere, in which the president feels more comfortable to freely meet with people, knowing he’s outside the strictures of official Washington…
Multiple former White House officials said that Trump is much more comfortable when he is relaxing down at Mar-a-Lago and is surrounded by many fewer staffers who try to keep out shady individuals when he’s in the White House. One of those former White House officials described Trump as feeling “liberated” and at home when he’s at Mar-a-Lago…
In the early days, there was some consternation among White House officials about the lax situation. The Secret Service was “never happy,” according to the first former White House official.
“It was a bunch of hangers-on,” that official said. “You just don’t want to put the president in the same room with some folks … who were maybe closer to him when he was a developer or living in New York than you’d want, who were controversial in their own right, whether they were involved in lawsuits or other things.”
Back then, “every guy would bring a friend and the friend was some guy from some country or [a] lobbyist,” said a person close to the White House. “I think they put the kibosh on that and became a lot tougher on screening and who members were bringing as guests.”
The person remembered one time when a member showed up with people from a sub-Saharan African country who wanted to talk to Trump. In a sign that staff were trying to put some limits on things, the individuals were turned away…
War criminals, serial rapists, global gangsters — no problem! But anyone whose skin is darker than Tiger Woods’…
Laurence Leamer, the author of “Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump’s Presidential Palace,” said one reason that Trump is in a better mood at the Palm Beach resort is because no members or visitors to Mar-a-Lago challenge Trump directly when they’re at his resort. Leamer noted that numerous one-time members who object to Trump’s policies resigned over their political differences.
“He can’t stand to be criticized or challenged. And when he asks you, ‘How am I doing?’ you just say ‘You’re doing great,’ that’s it, that’s what he wants to hear,” said Leamer, who has talked with Trump many times at Mar-a-Lago over the years…
<em>Repubs in Disturbingly Close Array!</em> Open ThreadPost + Comments (82)