Several weeks into the works, the renovations, which were undertaken to make the approximately 3,000-square-foot space larger and updated in preparation for the post-White House Trumps life, were not appealing to Trump’s aesthetic, according to his response. Trump was also unhappy with other renovations to the property, the source said, not just the living quarters.
“He was not happy with it,” said the source, noting that a number of loud, one-sided conversations with club management followed almost immediately.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
It was Melania Trump and her interior designer, Tham Kannalikham, who picked out many details about the renovations, but not the Mar-a-Lago staff, a fact of which Trump was well aware.
This is not the first time that the president’s personal taste has clashed with that of his wife. Trump was also unenthusiastic about some of the decorative updates from Camp David, another first lady project, when he saw them over the Thanksgiving holiday, according to another source familiar with the president’s response after the visit.
The source at Mar-a-Lago noted that Trump was so dissatisfied with the way some of the renovations looked this week that he asked for the decor, which consisted of white marble and an abundance of dark wood, to be removed. They were prompt.
If the kickoff to his last stay in Florida as president was tough, the days that followed would be largely the same, with Trump appearing “ moody, ” according to the source at the club, spending more time behind closed doors than usual and not talking as much as he normally deals with club members and senior White House employees, many of whom have joined him there in recent years.
“The atmosphere is not good,” said another source at Mar-a-Lago this Christmas compared to the previous one.
Doubting when and even whether he would sign a major Covid-19 aid package and federal funding bill sparked a gamble as to whether his day would be good or bad, or indifferent. Trump was initially going to sign the bill on Christmas Eve, according to a source familiar with the president’s schedule, but chose not to do so at the last minute. On Sunday, on his way to dinner at his nearby Trump International Golf Club, Trump finally signed.
Changes at the club
Although he has largely ignored Covid-19’s ravages in the country, has given little comment in recent weeks, and has seemingly taken a backseat approach as hundreds of thousands of Americans are infected every day, Trump has been unable to avoid the impact of the coronavirus on his lover sanctuary of Mar-a-Lago.
The week between Christmas and New Year is typically the peak of the winter season, and at Mar-a-Lago some old members avoid the club.
“It’s just too great a risk, it’s not worth it,” said one member who chose not to travel to Florida this year.
Still, some busy areas and an abundance of people remain, adds another member who has been in contact with people currently at Mar-a-Lago.
“People are going to eat as usual,” said the source, adding that there “seems to be little attention for the pandemic.”
The beach club area by the pool is so busy during the day that guests argue about available chairs, the source said.
On Monday, the Florida Department of Health released new numbers for positivity rates. Palm Beach County was 10.38%, the highest since November 30 and an increase since December 15 of 8.42%. The state considers anything above 5% dangerous.
A winter traveler in Palm Beach said they’ve heard about the wealthy enclave’s lack of parties, events, and fundraisers, and that the dinnertime ritual of table hopping, going from table to table to exchange air kisses and hello, is almost gone. The mandate for wearing masks for businesses, establishments, public areas, and restaurants in Palm Beach was extended in Palm Beach County until January 20, and includes Mar-a-Lago, although compliance has been hit and miss at best.
The “scene” of Mar-a-Lago, as it were, largely consists of holding Trump in court while he is in residence. Club members and their guests love to marvel at bumping into the President of the United States at the buffet or a party in the ballroom. At a wedding on Monday night in Mar-a-Lago, Trump appeared as a surprise, entering to greet and congratulate the bride and groom, according to one attending the event.
New Year’s Eve party
The legendary Mar-a-Lago black-tie New Year’s Eve party, which Trump and his family attend every year and for which guests pay thousands per ticket, will still take place on Thursday night, said a member of Mar-a-Lago, who’s rumored heard that at least 500 reservations have already been confirmed. What is unclear is whether visitors will adhere to the coronavirus control guidelines. At a gala earlier this month for Turning Point USA, the conservative student group, partygoers ignored the requirements of mask and social distance, photos from the event showed hundreds in the Mar-a-Lago ballroom.
The president has also been relegated to a smaller group of famous faces to entertain and spend his time on this Florida trip. There are no foreign leaders to receive, as is often the case during his presidency, and most of the senior West Wing staff who usually join the trip are absent.
On Sundays, Trump did not dine with the first lady, but instead ate at a table with his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and Trump Jr.’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, according to a witness who said Trump was visited at his table by Roger Stone, one of his longtime cronies who had pardoned the president less than a week earlier. Stone entered the club wearing a ‘Trump 2020’ face mask.
Trump’s most frequent activity – and reprieve – is his morning rounds of golfing, holiday recreation that so many millions of Americans have forgotten this year as they heeded warnings about the spread of the coronavirus.
On Tuesday, on his way to the golf course, the president had time to tweet about the chaos in Washington, DC, where politicians are rushing to secure financial support for Americans in economic despair.
“Republican leadership only wants the path of least resistance,” Trump tweeted. “Our leaders (not me of course!) Are pathetic.”