Members are quitting 'sad' Mar-a-Lago after Trump loses

[groundloop]

Source: CNN

Many once-loyal members of Mar-a-Lago are leaving because they no longer want to have any connection to former President Donald Trump, according to the author of the definitive book about the resort.

"It's a very dispirited place," Laurence Leamer, historian and author of "Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace," told MSNBC host Alex Witt on "Weekends with Alex Witt" Saturday. He said members are "not concerned about politics and they said the food is no good."

Leamer said he spoke to a number of former members who "silently walked out" after Trump left office.

Trump moved to the Palm Beach, Florida, estate after his term ended last week. But without the cachet of the sitting president of the United States working at the estate, guests are finding Mar-a-Lago lost a step. There isn't any entertainment on the property during the pandemic, and Leamer added, "It's a sad place ... it's not what it was."




Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/24/business/mar-a-lago-donald-trump-guests/index.html

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Mar-a-Lago has been called a stodgy, stuffy club filled with Trump memorabilia -- much of it fake. Many people had paid $200,000 for a membership, it's doubtful that anyone will continue to pay that much.

[Siwsan]

1. I wonder if Mar-a-Lago was ever open to tourists

I have a very vague memory of visiting a 'pink palace', years ago. I'm talking in the late 1960's. We used to go on long camping trips, either to Florida or California (My dad was a teacher/coach). I definitely know it wasn't during a California trip.

[groundloop]

12. Could it have been The Don CeSar at St. Pete Beach?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Don_CeSar

[Siwsan]

13. That name doesn't ring any bells

I'm hoping I can find some old photos of that first trip to Florida.

[EX500rider]

29. The Vinoy is also in St Pete and big & pink. not on the beach though like the Don

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinoy_Park_Hotel

[FakeNoose]

22. Before Chump purchased it in the mid '80s

... it was a private residence owned by Margaret Merriwether Post. When she died in 1973 it was deeded to the National Park Service, however the U.S. government never actually used it. It was too expensive to maintain as a Presidential retreat, when they already maintained Camp David for the same purpose. The place was empty and unused until it was put up for sale privately in the mid 1980s.

Chump bought it in 1985 for bargain price of $10 million, having snatched it out from under his friend Jeffrey Epstein. Eventually in the 1990's Chump turned it into an exclusive resort for members only, after he went through several bankruptcies and failed to raise funds for maintaining the property for his own private use.

More info at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar-a-Lago

[Siwsan]

23. Thanks!

Maybe we drove by it, or something. I just have a memory of seeing a massive pink structure.

[xxqqqzme]

2. Not surprised the food is crap.

Considering his dull palate.

Plus he probably pays 'flat top' wages for cooks. He can't afford 'chefs'.

[3Hotdogs]

20. What? Cold Big Mac and fries ain't good enough for 'em?

Fuck 'em, if they can't appreciate quality.

[maddogesq]

3. Sorry I couldn't resist some Rodney at this juncture.

"Tell the ccok this is low grade dog foood."

[mahina]

8. Perfect

Thank you

[maddogesq]

9. But wait, there's more...

[Laha]

15. I liked him when I was young

But I was too young to understand most of the jokes. I've missed that silly man.

[LongtimeAZDem]

27. "I tell ya, my sex life. It's like shooting pool with a rope"

[Blue Owl]

4. Sad!

[Bayard]

5. That's gotta hurt

[PatSeg]

6. "....and they said the food is no good."

Wonder if they still serve "beautiful chocolate cake".

You'd think for the cost of a membership that at least the food would be decent.

[TeamPooka]

16. that will hurt trumpy the most

[louis-t]

24. The cake is probably Entemann's

[keithbvadu2]

26. "more focused on creating an image for his properties than in spending what it takes to make them ex

Filth, roaches, rodents, bedbugs, and now Trumpvirus.

Trump properties are getting quite the recognition.

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/kzkvaw/trump-restaurants-have-been-cited-for-hundreds-of-code-violations
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But a former business associate told the Daily News that despite being a self-described “clean hands freak” and germaphobe, Trump has “always been far more focused on creating an image for his properties than in spending what it takes to make them excellent”.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/27/trump-attacks-rat-infested-district-after-rodents-reported-in-trump-tower

[niyad]

7. Are they asking for their membership fees back?

[redstateblues]

10. I've played a few gigs at stuffy Palm Beach clubs and it's

mostly really rich 80 year old guys and a lot of somewhat younger gold diggers. It's pretty creepy.

[CountAllVotes]

11. ugh

Seriously, quadruple

and one for the road ...

[EarthFirst]

14. These members know which way the wind blows...

Nobody honestly thought these individuals were going to continue to drop 200K plus 10% clubhouse after all was said and done.

It was nothing more than a flex to their friends and colleagues; with the off chance that it would pardon a favor as a result.

That’s how the socialites operate.

On to the next to do...

[TeamPooka]

17. "sales at the Mar-a-Lago resort increased over the last year, from $21.4 million to $24.2 million"

I wonder how much of that was taxpayer dollars?

[Warpy]

18. Nobody to bribe and nowhere to buy access, you bet that's sad to most of them

That place might yet be converted back into a palace instead of a club where movers and shakers meet to try to use each other.

[twodogsbarking]

19. Trump is so last year

we're moving to Del Boca Vista baby.

[louis-t]

25. Ha!! The outtakes from that episode are hilarious!

Jerry Stiller really cracked up the cast.

[PatrickforO]

21. Mar-a-Lago is overrated, much like Trump himself.

What is it Texans say? All hat, no cattle...

At $200K for membership, it is definitely a scam.

[Aussie105]

28. Sad place?

When the delusions fade, sadness takes it's place.

They thought that their membership fees bought them something. A free ride, and a profitable one, on the coattails of the Trump phenomenon.

Not so, it turns out.

They now see Mar-a-Lago for what it is, a House of Delusions.

But the closest they can get to admitting all of that is to say . . . the food is bad!