Will Mar-a-Lago get a MAGA coronation? Trump supporters get ready to party at the president’s Palm Beach club as he dominates Super Tuesday and ignores Nikki Haley who stays home
Hundreds of people gathered in the Mar-a-Lago ballroom Tuesday night, cheering each primary election result and waiting to hear from former President Donald Trump as he took another big step toward the Republican Party nomination.
“We have to beat Biden — he’s the worst president in history,” Trump said before voting had even started in a morning TV interview, setting the tone for his viewing party-cum-victory parade.
With more than 800 delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday, he could almost kill rival Nikki Haley.
And the crowd gathered in Mar-a-Lago’s grand ballroom knew it.
“Tonight is the day,” said a young man dressed in a Trump uniform, navy blue suit, white shirt and red tie.
Hundreds of glamorous young men and women arrived to watch the results roll in and celebrate the former president’s expected avalanche of delegates
Trump supporters put on a show of force at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening as they waited for the former president to deliver a speech on Tuesday evening
Their man quickly racked up victories in Maine, Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas and Tennessee, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Trump’s top aides are said to be unconcerned about whether or not it is the night Haley drops out, preferring to focus their messages on President Joe Biden, 81.
“I have no idea,” said top campaign adviser Chris LaCivita. “I can’t get into her head.”
Insiders quietly informed reporters with a nudge and a wink that Haley was quietly staying home rather than making public appearances.
The crowds began pouring in before 7 p.m., filling the gilded opulence of Mar-a-Lago’s Grand Ballroom, where sixteen chandeliers hang from the ceiling and the walls glitter with mirrors.
Above the chandeliers is the office where some presidential documents were found, which gave rise to one of the four criminal cases against Trump.
On Tuesday night, the ballroom hummed with an eclectic mix of “deplorables” and rally regulars who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Palm Beach-funded set.
A group arrived in ‘Born to Ride – 45’ motorcycle jackets (in reference to the 45th president) alongside young men in the Trump uniform: navy blue suit, white shirt and red tie.
And for every local grand dame with platinum blonde hair, there was another in a Save America dress or red, white and blue outfit.
The event took place amid the gilded opulence of Mar-a-Lago’s Grand Ballroom, where sixteen chandeliers hang from the ceiling and the walls glitter with mirrors
The crowd cheered each victory as it was declared for Trump
The audience was an eclectic mix of people who enjoy the idea of being ‘deplorables’ and the wealthy elite of Palm Beach society.
Palm Beach is nearing the end of the season. Many affluent residents will spend the summer in cooler climates. Here is the exterior of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate
Aides said Trump conducted phone interviews throughout the day with media outlets in Super Tuesday states.
Biden also worked to shore up his support among Black voters, who were crucial to his 2020 victory, with a pair of radio interviews aimed at African-American audiences.
“If we lose this election, you’re going to come back to Donald Trump,” he told the “DeDe in the Morning” show. “The way he talks about the African-American community, the way he acted, the way he’s dealt with the African-American community, I think has been shameful.”
Haley didn’t make any promises to fight last Super Tuesday. She has no more campaign events and no more TV ads that air last Tuesday night.
“As much as everyone wants to push me out, I’m not ready yet,” she told Fox News on Tuesday morning.
Trump’s advisers predict that Haley will be mathematically eliminated on March 19.
His first criminal trial, on charges of fraud stemming from a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, will begin six days later.
Still, on the whole, Trump’s legal strategy has paid off. Last week, the Supreme Court said it would hear his claim that he was protected by presidential immunity, pushing back his federal election fraud case for later in the year.
His series of delaying tactics means it is likely that not one of the four cases will have reached a verdict by Election Day (and in two cases, one may not even have begun).