Will Donald Trump move to Mar-a-Lago if he loses? Luxurious $160M mansion may be perfect for POTUS and family
President Donald Trump sparked a wave of angry reactions after declaring victory in a speech from inside the East Room of the White House even as millions of votes were still left to be counted. The 2020 US election results are still awaited and as of now, Joe Biden is reportedly leading with 248 electoral votes according to the Associated Press while Trump is at 214. To win, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes.
Although races are yet to be called in certain states, there seems to be a strong chance that Biden may clinch victory. “Now after a long night of counting, it's clear that we are winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. I'm not here to declare that we have won. But I am here to report when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners,” Biden said while addressing the nation from the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware.
Now, if Biden's prophecy turns out to be true, what will Trump do after leaving office? Will he move to The Villages? On Friday, October 23, 2020, POTUS jokes that he may sell his luxurious Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach and move across Florida to The Villages, an affordable and friendly 80,000-person retirement community.
“I think I’ll move in. I have an idea: I will sell Mar-a-Lago and I’ll move to The Villages,” Trump told a crowd during a campaign stop at the community. “You know what, it’s not the worst idea. I like that idea. I like that idea. I like the people here.” Bought in 1985 after spending a reported $10 million on the property and furnishings, the property was estimated to be worth $160 million in 2018, according to Forbes. The median home listing price in The Villages is $300,000, according to Realtor.com.
Trump last visited Mar-a-Lago in October after two rallies in Florida. As per reports, he was there to cast an early ballot the next morning in West Palm Beach before heading to campaign events in North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin. Before that, he was seen there in March which was touted to be a final gasp of “before times” prior to the Covid-19 period.
Now, while Trump may have joked he would sell Mar-a-Lago, but the 128-room mansion in Palm Beach is too close to his heart. In fact, he fondly calls the Palm Beach club and catering facility the “Winter White House”. Built by cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1927, Trump turned it into a club with a 20,000-square-foot ballroom with $7 million in gold leaf. “I have 24 acres in Palm Beach and nobody has anything like that,” Trump said at a show jumping event there in 2014. “A big house is on one acre. I have 24. It's the great estate of Palm Beach.”
When Trump is in residence, he and his family stay in a private wing of the house. When it was first opened, Jewish members, African-Americans, and gay couples —who had been prohibited from joining other Palm Beach clubs — were all welcomed to stay. As per a Town and Country Magazine report, club members reportedly used to pay a $100,000 initiation fee and annual dues of $14,000 (along with taxes and an annual food minimum of $2,000) for the privilege of using the facilities. After Trump took the office in 2016, the inauguration fee went up to $200,000.
In fact, reports say Trump made $15.6 million from the club in 2014. Two years later, in 2016, he made $25.1 million and in 2019, the number slightly dipped to $21.4 million. Not just good in monetary terms, the resort is also a favorite for Trump as Trump — as per the same report “has more friends down there, as opposed to, say, in Manhattan, where Trump — a lifelong New Yorker — is extremely unpopular.”
At Mar-a-Lago, he can let loose and be himself. Back in 2019, he and the First Lady changed their primary residence from Manhattan to Palm Beach. Explaining his decision, he tweeted, “I cherish New York, and the people of New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state.”
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, is the place I have come to love and will stay for, hopefully, another 5 years as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, but my family and I will be making Palm Beach, Florida, our Permanent Residence. I cherish New York, and the people of.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2019
....this decision, but in the end it will be best for all concerned. As President, I will always be there to help New York and the great people of New York. It will always have a special place in my heart!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2019
So, if Trump loses, there is quite a strong chance that he may ditch Trump Tower to move to his luxurious Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.