April 5, 2023 - 9:00pm
Mar-a-Lago, Florida
The invitation cordially invites me to join President Donald Trump for the Remarks at The Mar-a-Lago Club. It further notes that “Business attire is recommended” and warns that “no food will be served” but that “seating will be available to all guests on a first come first served basis.” All three of those details turn out to be true…-ish. There is some sustenance: bags of chips, platters of Twinkie chocolate brownies, and rows of Trump-logo water bottles.
There are two sections of gold chairs, but they are all reserved by name, and the ushers explain that “political VIPs” are being seated on the left and members of the pricey Mar-a-Lago Resort Club on the right. The roughly 400 other invitees are left to stand, with a huge press contingent in place on a stage at the back of the ballroom.
The style and demographics are eclectic. There is a smattering of MAGA caps and red, white and blue cowboy hats. A group of about a dozen hardscrabble men is decked out in leather biker jackets embroidered with the logo “Born to Ride – Donald Trump.” Only a minority is in the recommended business attire, while the ladies are mostly in ballgowns or skimpy, clingy club attire. The Palm Beach Ladies Division is instantly identifiable through its unique variant of conspicuous consumption: lips, cheeks and bosoms all visibly enhanced. There is a lot of jewellery.
Mar-a-Lago is, of course, in ritzy Palm Beach. It’s a spectacular, gigantic mansion originally built and furnished exquisitely with European materials and antiques by Marjorie Merriweather Post. After her death, in a truly astounding feat of lowball negotiation, Trump bought it with contents and all for $10 million – per Forbes, it was worth $160 million in 2020. The term mansion does not do it justice, as it is both too palatial and too non-residential for that. It seems to have found its truer purpose as a super-luxury hotel, restaurant and event space.
It’s commonplace to talk about Trump’s “base”, but that sounds misleadingly homogeneous. It conjures an image of discontented working-class men and middle American rednecks. There is that, and several pick-up trucks — painted all over with pictures of Trump and flags and slogans — are prominent on the manicured lawns of Mar-a-Lago on this evening, while liveried staff members valet the also-arriving Bentleys, Range Rovers and Ferraris.
In the ballroom, exquisitely coiffed and dressed members of the business elite mingle comfortably with the biker contingent, the baseball-capped veterans and the bleached and bejewelled elderly wives of even older men. When Trump arrives, unexpectedly punctual at 20:15, the mood is enthusiastic but not raucous.
The crowd remains standing throughout the speech and applauds often. Mention of Bragg elicits boos. People remark, and it’s true, that Trump has lost weight and tweaked his hair colour, causing him to look younger and better than during his presidency. He certainly does not look like someone who’s just been arraigned. He looks unflappable. The crowd looks unshakeable. 2024 looks interesting.
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Subscribe” He looks unflappable. The crowd looks unshakeable. 2024 looks interesting.”
Ha ha. Nicely done.
” He looks unflappable. The crowd looks unshakeable. 2024 looks interesting.”
Ha ha. Nicely done.
This is a fascinating article. I can’t think of anywhere else the social classes would voluntarily mix in this manner. Most gatherings of people are gated according to wealth and/or status. At an NFL game, billionaires sit in private booths, the affluent sit in the lower section, the peasants in the upper bowl, if they can afford to attend at all (most can’t). Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton both got in trouble when comments they made at exclusive donor meetings were unexpectedly made public. Membership in private clubs is an expensive privilege. I doubt many of the cowboy hat wearing truck driving folks attending Trump’s speech would ever see the inside of a place like Mar-A-Lago otherwise. This then, is the secret to Trumpism, bringing people in very disparate classes together in common political purpose. Historically speaking, this is not common, tending to precede major revolutions and significant political change. The establishment are right to fear it. Their mistake is believing that Trump has some magical power to make this happen. He doesn’t, and whenever his political career has run its course, they will learn this the hard way.
Apparently you didn’t read the bit which described how VIPs sat in reserved seats on one side, members of the expensive club sat in reserved seats on the other side, and the salt-of-the-earth Real Americans stood at the back.
Yes, they “mingled” at one point. So do the various social groups at the sporting stadia when they walk in and out.
Apparently you didn’t read the bit which described how VIPs sat in reserved seats on one side, members of the expensive club sat in reserved seats on the other side, and the salt-of-the-earth Real Americans stood at the back.
Yes, they “mingled” at one point. So do the various social groups at the sporting stadia when they walk in and out.
This is a fascinating article. I can’t think of anywhere else the social classes would voluntarily mix in this manner. Most gatherings of people are gated according to wealth and/or status. At an NFL game, billionaires sit in private booths, the affluent sit in the lower section, the peasants in the upper bowl, if they can afford to attend at all (most can’t). Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton both got in trouble when comments they made at exclusive donor meetings were unexpectedly made public. Membership in private clubs is an expensive privilege. I doubt many of the cowboy hat wearing truck driving folks attending Trump’s speech would ever see the inside of a place like Mar-A-Lago otherwise. This then, is the secret to Trumpism, bringing people in very disparate classes together in common political purpose. Historically speaking, this is not common, tending to precede major revolutions and significant political change. The establishment are right to fear it. Their mistake is believing that Trump has some magical power to make this happen. He doesn’t, and whenever his political career has run its course, they will learn this the hard way.
None it will matter if certain select county electoral commissions are not de-fortified. We’re clearly through the looking glass with respect to literal political persecutions. The RNC needs to, you know, do something.
None it will matter if certain select county electoral commissions are not de-fortified. We’re clearly through the looking glass with respect to literal political persecutions. The RNC needs to, you know, do something.
‘…exquisitely coiffed and dressed members of the business elite mingle’.
Yep he represents the super rich establishment and the rest of his base just get chucked regular ‘red meat’ to keep them following. An old playbook but works…for a while.
Shame! Did you not receive your invite? Maybe next time…
“Yep he represents the super rich establishment and the rest of his base just get chucked regular ‘red meat’ to keep them following. An old playbook but works…for a while.”
For a moment I thought you were referring to Biden. At least Trump has real followers that showed up at rallies in their thousands.
Biden could not fill a parking lot during the run up to the last election and they were in cars, hiding from a China bug. No one must till me that that election was not stolen.
Well I must tell you – that election was not stolen! The clue is the complete and total lack of evidence that that there was any other than risibly minor and inconsequential fraud in that 2020 election, no more than in any other election and the same for all parties. If there is any credible evidence of material fraud could someone reference the detail please as I would like to know.
Not in the traditional manner. The MSM suppression of anything truthful.Hunter Biden’s laptop. Add the weird way the courts totally ignored glaring evidence of tampering, I would say there was interference in an election. And Tony, I say it was.
Not in the traditional manner. The MSM suppression of anything truthful.Hunter Biden’s laptop. Add the weird way the courts totally ignored glaring evidence of tampering, I would say there was interference in an election. And Tony, I say it was.
Well I must tell you – that election was not stolen! The clue is the complete and total lack of evidence that that there was any other than risibly minor and inconsequential fraud in that 2020 election, no more than in any other election and the same for all parties. If there is any credible evidence of material fraud could someone reference the detail please as I would like to know.
Shame! Did you not receive your invite? Maybe next time…
“Yep he represents the super rich establishment and the rest of his base just get chucked regular ‘red meat’ to keep them following. An old playbook but works…for a while.”
For a moment I thought you were referring to Biden. At least Trump has real followers that showed up at rallies in their thousands.
Biden could not fill a parking lot during the run up to the last election and they were in cars, hiding from a China bug. No one must till me that that election was not stolen.
‘…exquisitely coiffed and dressed members of the business elite mingle’.
Yep he represents the super rich establishment and the rest of his base just get chucked regular ‘red meat’ to keep them following. An old playbook but works…for a while.