Palm Beach is braced for a new wave of wealthy transplants who are hoping for a chance to woo incoming president Donald Trump.
The South Florida city, which is home to Trump’s coastal haven Mar-a-Lago, has become the MAGA’s mecca in recent years.
His glitzy club is the center of the Trump universe and has functioned as the commander-in-chief’s political headquarters since his first term ended in 2020.
Locals of the glamorous barrier-island town are now expecting activity to ramp up even further ahead of Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Realtors are already reporting a boom in enquiries for viewings at ‘big-ticket homes’ since the the election.
Meanwhile, Melissa Rein Lively, a public-relations executive, told Bloomberg: ‘I want somebody to treat the DC-Palm Beach circuit like TMZ. Politics has replaced Hollywood.’
But not everyone is happy about the development, with some residents complaining about the huge security bills to protect Trump when he’s in town and the already busy roads getting even more backed-up.
The political highway of cabinet hopefuls has been a revolving door since Trump was declared victor in the historic election two weeks ago.
Trump’s picks for his second administration have a Florida narrative – Senator Marco Rubio was announced as the Secretary of State and Congressman Mike Waltz as the national security advisor.
This decision to source cabinet members from the sunshine state is a trend for Trump.
Some of his elite Palm Beach neighbors held high-level roles during his first term in the White House.
‘It’s a wonderful place,’ Brian Ballard, a lobbyist and Mar-a-Lago member, told Bloomberg. ‘A place you can go and see colleagues, friends from the previous Trump administration, friends from the current campaign.’
Steven Schwarzman, the CEO of the Blackstone Group, served as an emissary to China while Wilbur Ross, the former chairman and chief executive officer of WL Ross & Co, was Trump’s commerce secretary.
Other neighborly friends who held government positions under Trump included Isaac Perlmutter, the former Marvel Entertainment chairman, who served as his unofficial advisor overhauling the Veterans Administration.
Trump reportedly visited the Palm Beach resort so frequently while in office – at least 134 times – that it was dubbed as the ‘Winter White House’, Newsweek reported.
His 2024 campaign proved no different. Trump continued to use Mar-a-Lago as his political base where he would give press conferences.
Now, the migration of political operators to Palm Beach has led to an interest in seeking property and offices within the club’s range.
‘I expect it to be, probably even more so than the first term, the center of the universe outside of DC,’ Nick Iarossi, a lobbyist who is opening an office for his firm in the area, told Bloomberg.
Gary Pohrer, a broker with Douglas Elliman, told Bloomberg that he has been scheduling more showings than average since Election Day.
‘There will be some people who will try to buy access to Trump through property in Palm Beach,’ he said. ‘You’d have a good shot if you’re willing to pay up for a membership at Mar-a-Lago.’
The cost of the membership is set to be raised to a staggering $1 million, according to a club manager.
But wealthy transplants are willing to pay that hefty price tag for the chance to woo the president-elect.
‘It’s power. You’ve got a new class of people joining,’ Laurence Leamer, the 2019 author of a book based on Trump and Mar-a-Lago, told Bloomberg.
‘What is the million dollars for membership if you can get a $2 billon deal from the White House?’
Yet the frenzy has left some locals fearing the unknown for the future of their town.
‘They tend to camp out all day long either along the Southern Bridge or the parking lots of businesses just west of it. They blast music and have giant flags and signs,’ said one resident on Reddit.
Palm Beach is a vertical barrier island that resides on the 10-mile long South Ocean Boulevard – one major road that sits near Mar-a-Lago.
The road was initially partially closed – which basically cut the town in half – as a security measure in the wake of the assassination attempt against the incoming president during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.
But as Trump enters his second term as president, he continues to face targeted physical and cyber threats.
China has tried to hack the communications of Trump and his inner circle, Iran has allegedly tried to develop a plan to kill him and another assassination attempt almost took place right on the grounds of his West Palm Beach golf course.
‘Safeguarding the President-elect is a top priority,’ Anthony Guglielmi, the chief communications officer for the Secret Service, told The Hill.
But this heightened security comes at a cost, with traveling around the island nearly impossible without South Ocean Boulevard.
Some residents took to Reddit to express their frustrations in a thread regarding the road closures and chaos unfolding right in their town.
‘I work on the island and can confirm it’s a total f***ing nightmare,’ said one disgruntled resident. ‘Takes me almost an hour to get over the bridge some days.’
Another said: ‘Honestly? It was a huge pain but this summer after the assassination attempts have been 10x worse,’ while also noting that their typical 10 minute commute turned into a 45 minute one.
‘I understand security is necessary, but the whole thing is frustrating beyond belief,’ the same resident added.
Another resident replied to the thread and said: ‘It’s affected my company on a daily basis when he’s in town when he was president before and now so much more difficult on the island.’
‘It feels like I am walking through a depressing dystopian film set now,’ added another.
‘People are incredibly upset,’ Kirk Blouin, the town manager, told The Palm Beach Post.
‘Whether you’re a resident, business owner, employee in some fashion or visitors to the town, there’s a high probability you’re going to get stuck in traffic, particularly in the morning and evening rush hours.’
This past August, Mar-a-Lago, Secret Service and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office struck up a deal to reopen the road when Trump isn’t home and allegedly remove the barricades when he’s gone for at least two days.
There was an overall assumption that the barricades would be removed if Trump had lost the election ‘because the threats would diminish’, The Palm Beach Post reported.
But now the road closures will depend on how frequently Trump visits his political corner of Palm Beach, and the Secret Service has not told the town of any upcoming changes to the issue.
‘The cost of protecting him is astronomical,’ Maria Sachs, the Palm Beach County Mayor, told Bloomberg.
The Palm Beach County has spent $93,000 a day to protect Trump and his family while on the island – around the clock road closures, robotic surveillance dogs detecting explosive material and the US Coast Guard patrolling the nearby waterways.
It is still unclear what permanent security measures will need to be put in place at Mar-a-Lago along with the town of Palm Beach by the Secret Service, but Trump remains eager to keep his position as a host at the club, WPBF reported.
‘What I would anticipate is that at Mar-a-Lago, you will see in the golf courses and everything else, more enhanced screening procedures for all guests, all vehicles, all deliveries,’ Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent, told CNN.
‘Whether you’re there to see the president or if you’re a member, it’ll be noticeably enhanced.’
Another Secret Service official added: ‘We can’t put him in a bubble.’
But locals have an impending sense of doom that their beachy community will never be the same.
‘The whole nature of Palm beach has just changed,’ Leamer told Bloomberg.
‘Now it’s a club of billionaires, and Trump is the center of it all.
