President Trump’s private social club in Palm Beach, Fla., Hosted a New Year’s Eve gala in which the unmasked revelers dined indoors and danced to Vanilla Ice and members of the Beach Boys.
Trump himself did not attend the gala at the Mar-a-Lago club, as he usually does, instead shortened his vacation and returned to Washington on Thursday without explanation.
But members of the president’s family and the extended political circle cheered anyway at an event that disregarded warnings against internal meetings during the holidays, when the coronavirus reached its deadliest levels. The gala also appeared to violate specific guidelines posted on the Palm Beach County website, requiring facial coverage in “all businesses and establishments”.
Participants included Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and his girlfriend, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle. Rudolph W. Giuliani, the personal lawyer of the president and former mayor of New York, was shown in an online shoot dancing with a partner in a version of “New York, New York”. More than 500 guests were expected, according to The Palm Beach Post.
“Okay, this is incredible. Vanilla Ice is playing at the Mar-a-Lago New Year’s party, ”wrote young Mr. Trump in a Facebook post that included a clip of the 53-year-old rapper, best known for his smash hit“ Ice Ice Baby, ” Performing in front of hundreds of crowded revelers dancing awkwardly in formal attire and without masks. “As a child of the 90s, you cannot imagine how incredible this is. Also, I got the birthday message, so it was amazing. “
Other guests included Mr. Trump’s second son, Eric, and his wife, Lara; the president’s daughter, Tiffany Trump; Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida; and Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow in Palm Beach and a prominent supporter of the president.
Social media posts from the event also featured live performances by Teri Nunn, the lead singer of the 1970s and 80s new wave Berlin band, famous for the song “Take My Breath Away”, and two members of the Beach Boys, who now play without founding members Al Jardine and Brian Wilson. (Jardine and Wilson denied performances that the group’s touring version, led by another founding member, Mike Love, played in support of Trump.)
A menu posted on Instagram by a participant showed a first “Mr. Trump’s Wedge Salad ”, followed by cheese tortellini and a Wagyu meat starter.
Tickets for the event cost $ 1,000. Many were probably sold days before the first news broke on Wednesday, saying Trump would not attend.
A photo posted online by Eric Trump featured at least 15 party guests and a server in the background. Only the server wore a mask.
Mr. Trump and First Lady, Melania Trump, unexpectedly returned to the White House hours before the party, which he had originally planned to attend. It was not clear why Trump flew back to Washington, where he has not appeared in public since his return.
As the new year approached on Thursday night, Trump’s mind was on his election defeat as he continued to spread false allegations of electoral fraud. Less than 15 minutes before midnight, while millions of Americans were preparing to toast the arrival of 2021, Trump tweeted two clips from the right wing One America News Network promoting conspiracy theories about the election.
On Friday, Trump continued to send election-related tweets, including several promoting a protest demonstration in Washington on January 6, when Congress will meet to formally certify the election of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Trump also tweeted a complaint after Congress first voted to override one of his vetoes, defending the approval of a broad military spending bill. The president complained that the measure did not repeal a law that protects technology companies like Facebook and Twitter from responsibility for their users’ posts, and that Congress did not approve the larger economic stimulus checks that he had demanded.
“Now they want to give people devastated by the China Virus $ 600, instead of the $ 2,000 they desperately need,” He wrote. “It is not fair or smart!”