President Trump skipped his Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party, but that didn’t stop hundreds of maskless guests from packing up the ballroom and paying up to $ 1,000 for the privilege of seeing … Vanilla Ice.
Photos from the event posted to Instagram and Twitter also showed guests dancing, hugging and eating together at the gala, which apparently violated local COVID-19 guidelines. The black tie event included high profile Republicans such as Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump Jr., and Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eric and Lara Trump, and Rudy Giuliani.
Don Jr. seemed particularly captivated by a performance by the 1990s rapper and accused home abuser Vanilla Ice.
“Okay, this is great,” wrote Don Jr. in a Facebook post featuring a video of his hit song “Ice, Ice Baby” while the guests were dancing together. Vanilla ice cream plays [at] the New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago. As a kid in the 90s, you can’t believe how great that is. I also got the birthday wood, so that’s pretty amazing. “
The Palm Beach Post reported that had more than 500 guests secure reservations however, at Trump’s annual New Year’s Eve party, which began at 7 p.m., Mar-a-Lago declined to comment to The Daily Beast about the gala’s COVID-19 guidelines or attendance.
The President and First Lady were both absent after their sudden return to the White House on Thursday afternoon. It is not known why Trump left Palm Beach before his New Year’s Eve party, although guests were told the president would be in attendance, according to CNN.
Photos posted online show more than a dozen packed tables – making social distance impossible – while other snapshots show guests dancing close by. Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPilllow, singer Taylor Dayne and fashion designer Oscar Lopez were among those spotted. The 1970s band Berlin also performed at the event.
Judging by photos and videos, the partygoers violated Palm Beach County’s COVID-19 guidelines, which require facial coverage “within all businesses and institutions.” To date, 21,672 people have died and 1.3 million more are infected with the virus in Florida.
The Florida Department of Health and the Palm Beach County Administrator’s office did not respond to inquiries from The Daily Beast whether local orders had been broken.
The glittering New Year’s Eve party at Trump’s resort is a long-standing tradition. In previous years, the party was reportedly graced by celebrities such as Rod Stewart, Sylvester Stallone and Woody Allen.
The last time the president missed his party was in 2018 during the shutdown of the government, when Melania Trump was a guest without him.
Thursday’s celebration was calmer than in previous years, following Trump’s abrupt exit from the resort. The city of Palm Beach had also imposed a 1am curfew to limit New Year’s Eve festivities during the pandemic.
“Goodbye 2020! It’s been … real, ”guest Kimberly Benza, who works for the Trump family, posted on Instagram, alongside a photo with Lara Trump.