Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club is dealing with a coronavirus outbreak. But that doesn’t mean the parties will end.
On Sunday, the club is organizing a 500-person fundraiser for a children’s charity – complete with vintage cars, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and “everyone playing by the pool,” said Valentina Aved, Palm Beach real estate agent who helped organize the event. the event.
The $ 370-per-person party benefiting Place of Hope has sold out, Aved says, and no one seems to be concerned about the outbreak.
“It will be a very exciting event. The best cars, people, good friends, ”she told The Daily Beast.
The charity’s Instagram also promised to see “hundreds of historic cars, live entertainment, a fashion show, brunch and more!” Precautions for the coronavirus are not mentioned. The party’s website refers once to “remediation stations” and “space for social detachment”.
The event will take place outdoors after multiple infections forced the club’s dining room and beachfront venue to close. In an email to members first reported by the Associated Press, Mar-a-Lago said, “Some of our employees have recently tested positive for COVID-19,” but promised that “all appropriate measures had been taken” . The affected areas were cleared and some workers quarantined, but banquet and event services remain open, it said.
Aved, who goes by Valentina Deva on Instagram, told The Daily Beast that two kitchen workers had tested positive. She was in Mar-a-Lago last week during two wild fundraising events for a dog charity, Big Dog Ranch Rescue, chaired by Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump.
Usually, the annual gala – almost always at Trump properties – attracts at least 800 people, but thanks to COVID-19, the organizers split the event into two bashes of about 500 people over two days.
Aved insisted that everyone wear masks and did his best to keep a social distance – “maybe not six feet, but at least three feet apart” – in the Grand Ballroom.
But dozens of photos and videos from the event show that almost no attendees are wearing masks, and women are screaming and crowding around each other to take photos.
In a video of the event posted by Miami philanthropist Angela Bird, a topless male model walked a catwalk while a maskless woman screamed and cheered at nearby tables.
The events, complete with dog shows and an auction, reportedly raised $ 1.4 million. Neither Place of Hope, Big Dog Ranch Rescue, nor Mar-a-Lago responded to The Daily Beast’s request for comment on the precautions taken.
Lara Trump also attended the fundraiser. Donald Trump himself showed up halfway through and told the crowd that he heard their raucous sounds from the golf course and came to “see what you’re doing,” Aved said.
Trump was seen hugging people as a largely mask-free crowd took photos and sang, “We love you, we love you.”
Other videos over the past week saw Melania Trump join her husband in a dining room, harassed by more mask-free customers.
The former first family moved permanently to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House in January. Donald and Melania were there Friday preparing for their son Barron’s 15th birthday when the outbreak went public, CNN said.
Aved said she checked her friends in light of the club’s positive cases. Some had returned to Miami, others to New York, where incoming travelers would have to be quarantined or show evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result. None of them felt ill, she said.
Florida Democrat Omari Hardy asked Palm Beach County to shut down Mar-a-Lago in January after a New Year’s Eve party attracted hundreds of maskless revelers. The county sent a stern letter to the club warning it had violated county codes and could be fined $ 15,000.
Hardy said the Florida House has passed a COVID-19 liability law that will give companies like Mar-a-Lago immunity despite irresponsible behavior.
He tweeted Friday night: “The workers don’t deserve this.”