Donald Trump’s club in Mar-a-Lago is dealing with a coronavirus outbreak. But that does not mean that the parties stop.
On Sunday, the club will host a fundraiser for 500 people for a children’s charity – complete with vintage cars, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and “everyone playing in the pool,” according to Palm Beach real estate agent Valentina Aved, who helped organize the event.
The $ 370 party that benefits the Place of Hope is sold out, says Aved, and no one seems concerned about the outbreak.
“It will be a very exciting event. The most beautiful cars, people, good friends, ”she told The Daily Beast.
The charity’s Instagram also promised “hundreds of historic cars on display, live entertainment, a fashion show, brunch and more!” It does not mention the precautions against the coronavirus. The party’s website mentions “sanitation posts” and “space for social distance” once.
The event will be held outdoors after several infections forced the closure of the club’s dining room and beachfront location. In an email to members, first reported by the Associated Press, Mar-a-Lago said, “some of our employees recently tested positive for COVID-19”, but promised that “all appropriate response measures” were sockets. The affected areas are being cleaned and some workers are quarantined, but banquet and event services are still open, he said.
Aved, who serves for Valentina Deva on Instagram, told The Daily Beast that two members of the kitchen team tested positive. She was in Mar-a-Lago last week during two wild fundraising events organized for a canine charity, Big Dog Ranch Rescue, chaired by Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump.
Typically, the annual gala – almost always held at Trump properties – attracts at least 800 people, but due to COVID-19, organizers divided the event into two bashes of about 500 people over two days.
Aved insisted that everyone wore masks and tried their best to keep their social distance – “maybe not five feet, but at least five feet” – at the Grand Ballroom.
But dozens of photos and videos from the event show almost no participants wearing masks and women screaming and crowding to take pictures.
In a video of the event posted by Miami philanthropist Angela Bird, a male topless model walked down a catwalk while a woman without a mask screamed and applauded at nearby tables.
The events, complete with dog shows and an auction, 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 precautions taken.
Lara Trump also attended the fundraiser. Donald Trump himself appeared halfway, telling the crowd that he heard his shrill noises coming from the golf course and came “to take a look at what you are doing,” according to Aved.
Trump was seen hugging people while an almost maskless crowd took pictures and shouted, “We love you, we love you”.
In other videos from last week, Melania Trump was seen joining her husband in a dining room, surrounded by more customers without a mask.
The former first family moved permanently to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House in January. Donald and Melania were there on Friday preparing for their son Barron’s 15th birthday when the outbreak went public, according to CNN.
Aved said he checked his friends in light of the club’s positive cases. Some returned to Miami, others to New York, where incoming travelers must quarantine or provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result. None of them were feeling bad, she said.
Florida State Representative Omari Hardy, a Democrat, asked Palm Beach County to close Mar-a-Lago in January after a New Year’s Eve party drew hundreds of masked partygoers. The county sent a severe letter to the club saying it had violated county codes and could be fined $ 15,000.
Hardy said the Florida House passed a COVID-19 liability bill that would grant immunity to companies like Mar-a-Lago, despite irresponsible behavior.
He tweeted Friday night: “Workers don’t deserve this.”