Former President Donald Trump is leaving Florida to avoid the summer storms.
According to a Republican source close to Trump who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Trump has left his beachfront Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and is now at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Trump gave a TV interview from Mar-a-Lago to the Miami Spanish-language station MegaTV on Thursday evening before leaving. He’s leaving South Florida just as the region is under a tropical storm warning for the rest of the weekend.
With Trump’s migration north, much of the Republican political establishment will follow. GOP political prospects have rushed to Mar-a-Lago, holding fundraisers and other events in the hopes of meeting Trump and possibly landing a coveted endorsement, as MSN reported.
Bedminster will now be the GOP’s new office.
Trump’s post-presidential office declined to comment on the change in scenery or acknowledge his arrival in Bedminster. On Mother’s Day last year, Trump left Mar-a-Lago for the summer.
However, political gatherings have already been scheduled. Politico first reported that Trump will meet with several members of the conservative Freedom Caucus in Bedminster on Tuesday.
Melissa Braid, the spokeswoman for the House Freedom Caucus, told Insider that the group would be meeting to “discuss its continued efforts to defeat the Democrats’ radical socialist agenda, and advance conservative America First policies.”
The conference will also take place two days before the House Select Committee on January 6 starts holding public hearings on the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, which aimed to prevent President Joe Biden’s election victory from being recognized.
Trump, 75, a regular snowbird, has spent the last two decades escaping to Florida during the cold winter months and then returning north as the summer season starts. He plans to stay in Bedminster until the early fall.
The main Club at Mar-a-Lago closed for the season following its annual Mother’s Day luncheon, while the Beach Club remained open until Memorial Day, as is usual before the season’s long humid wave and ahead of hurricane season.
According to a second Republican source that routinely attended events at the club and spoke on the condition of anonymity after speaking with a current club member, Mar-a-Lago is expected to reopen for a huge celebration on Halloween weekend. Tiffany Trump, the former president’s younger daughter, is to marry on November 12 at Mar-a-Lago.
Florida is Trump’s permanent post-presidential home and voting place, and he referred to it as the “Winter White House” while still in office. His Bedminster club will be 45 miles west of New York City, another major donor power and where he lived before going for office.
Political gatherings are profitable for the Trump business, which has garnered millions of dollars for holding fundraisers over the years. The Secret Service has also spent almost $2 million to stay and dine at Trump properties since he became the Republican nominee in 2016, as per insider.
Trump has frequently been at Mar-a-Lago parties, sometimes even amusing his guests by acting as DJ for the evening. “YMCA” is one of his favorite songs to perform, and it’s a regular at his campaign rallies, he stated on the “Full Send Podcast.”
The former president has frequently hinted that he may run for president again in 2024, and he has raised significant funds for his two political action committees, Save America and Make America Great Again.
