WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- When President-elect Donald Trump rang in the new year this weekend, he did it with actor Sylvester Stallone, romance-novel cover model Fabio and a crowd of wealthy developers under the swaying palm trees at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
President George W. Bush had his ranch in Crawford, Texas. His father had his compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. President Bill Clinton vacationed in borrowed homes at Martha's Vineyard. President Barack Obama has taken frequent vacations in Hawaii, staying at a private home.
Trump, meanwhile, has adopted as his winter White House a 118-room private club, where he has spent the past two weeks away from his home in New York.
That was always the intention of Marjorie Merriweather Post, whose Mar-a-Lago resort was built on property she inherited from her father, cereal magnate C.W. Post. She had expressed hope that presidents would make a home in Mar-a-Lago -- the name translates to "Sea-to-Lake" -- and she left the property to the federal government when she died in 1973.
But the government had no interest in her plan or in paying the cost of upkeep, and it returned the property to the Post Foundation. Trump bought the property in late 1985 for less than $10 million, turning it into a club where membership costs six figures.
Trump quickly opened up Mar-a-Lago's membership to Jews and blacks, who had been excluded from other members-only establishments in the Palm Beach area. He was also the first club owner on the island to admit an openly gay couple.
Since Trump's victory in November, Mar-a-Lago has been stuffed with guests attracted by an amenity unique to this club: the chance to rub shoulders with the next president.
"It's like going to Disney [World] and knowing Mickey Mouse will be there all day long," said Jeff Greene, a developer and unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the Senate from Florida in 2010, who is a Mar-a-Lago member and was a Hillary Clinton supporter.
Instead of hosting major corporate executives and potential Cabinet secretaries for interviews inside a transition office at Trump Tower in New York, Trump has been seated at an ornately designed couch, upholstered in pale fabric laced with gold, beneath a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
At night, the couches are moved out and tables are added to accommodate the evening cocktail crowd, among whom Trump moves from one table to the next.
At the annual New Year's Eve party on Saturday night, a gold-laced white menu included "Mr. Trump's wedge salad," a wild mushroom and Swiss chard ravioli, and a "breakfast buffet." Those in attendance drifted in under a yellow-and-white striped awning, the men dressed in tuxedos, the women in ballgowns.
Guests stepped onto a red carpet as they entered the club and wandered over to a poolside cocktail party. Trump later delivered remarks, according to a guest, who said he thanked his family and the club members for their support over the years.
Howie Carr, a conservative radio host who was supportive of Trump, posted on Twitter that his daughter asked Trump if she could be an intern in the White House. Trump's two adult sons, Eric and Donald Jr., posed for photographs. Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski from MSNBC's Morning Joe were also there.
Trump returned to New York on Sunday, but those close to Trump said the club will remain an escape for him.
"Mar-a-Lago is an environment he can control," said historian Douglas Brinkley, who last week attended a Mar-a-Lago lunch. "I watched him hold court -- he was so comfortable in his own skin, and so relaxed."
Since Trump's election, the club has undergone some changes. Guests now pass through a security screen to gain access to the main entrance. Secret Service agents are now sprinkled throughout the property.
Robin Bernstein, a club member for nearly 25 years, said some club members might express frustration, but most thought that it was important "that we keep Donald and his family safe." Attendees seem to see a benefit so far in having the president-elect around, she said.
"The loser in this game is Camp David," said Brinkley, referring to the longtime presidential retreat in Maryland. "Once you're at Mar-a-Lago, and it's so opulent and resort-friendly, the idea of suddenly inserting yourself into Camp David's Maryland mountains environment seems unlikely."
A Section on 01/02/2017