A few hours ago, the police reopened the bridge over Bingham Island, which leads to the gates of the private luxury resort of Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the official residence of Donald Trump since he left office in January 2021. This exclusive club for billionaires is not only an iconic property with enormous historical and economic value, but also the place that continues to play an important role in the former president’s political life. He held political events and meetings with world leaders there while in office, transforming the complex into a kind of “Winter White House”as defined by the Republican candidate himself.
However, since he decided to leave New York and settle in West Palm Beach, the overly opulent club has been the subject of controversy. In August 2022, the FBI carried out a search where it recovered numerous confidential documents that, according to the Department of Justice, Trump had taken out of the White House without following proper procedures and in violation of national security. On the other hand, this has not affected his life at Mar-a-Lagowhich remains the logistical hub for the political and judicial challenges Trump still faces, as well as a key rallying point for many members of the Republican Party.
The Secret Service presence is visible everywhere. The agency’s black vehicles with tinted windows mingle with a dozen Palm Beach police units that regularly patrol the surrounding areas. “Every time Trump is home, the place becomes a national security zone,” “This is the first time that the club has been closed off from the crowds,” said one of the officers who guard the grounds, which are dominated by several watchtowers that rise above the fences surrounding the club. Only members, their guests and authorised staff are allowed in, but not before undergoing exhaustive security checks that include identity verification and airport-like searches.
Mar-a-Lago’s members are a mix of businessmen and public figures who enjoy its exclusive facilities such as the golf course, swimming pools and restaurants. However, the real value of the resort for the wealthy is not in its luxuries, but in its ability to keep Trump at the centre of American politics, since from here it ensures that his voice continues to be heard in the highest spheres of power.
Onlookers and supporters of the Republican candidate are crowding around the viewing platform on the bridge that runs across Southern Boulevard. One of them is Demian Stuck, a painter who has come from Tampa, some 330 kilometres away, with his wife Britney and their young son. “We came here so Trump could sign this painting for us”he explains, showing his work. “It is very important for me to get his signature. I have been waiting for four hours and I have not had any luck yet. At the entrance I asked the guards if it was possible, but they say he has gone to Michigan to continue the campaign,” he explains in front of the heavily protected enclosure.
Demian has not always supported Trump. “I am an artist and until a couple of years ago I didn’t really care about political issues, but little by little, Democratic policies have pushed me to become a follower. I live off my art and when I started to make public my predilection for Trump, all the galleries where I exhibited and sold my work refused to continue doing so. They told me: take your art and leave. It was very hard because I have to feed my family.”
For this “self-taught artist”, as he defines himself, the straw that broke the camel’s back was “the Democratic policies to benefit the LGTBI+ community and the woke movement”, which seeks to promote social justice, human rights and equality in power structures. Demian believes that this has caused an excess of false political correctness in the country that has led “to a culture of cancellation”.
“I don’t agree with those who preach the LGBT+ thesis, and I don’t want them around my son. Trump thinks the same way and has the same values as me, that’s why I support him. Until the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, I used to be careful with my opinions,” he admits. However, seeing that the former president “is willing to take a bullet for this country, I stopped being afraid to express what I think. To hell with that. Also, since I started painting pictures about Trump, my number of sales and followers has increased,” he says. “Finally we have an artist who paints something we believe in, many of them have told me,” he concludes, before leaving and promising that “I will come back and I will not stop until I get your signature.”
A few meters further on Gorgine, About sixty years old, she rests leaning on the metal fence of the bridge observation deck from which the outside of Mar-a-Lago can be seen, where she fixes her gaze with a mixture of admiration and sorrow “for the latest events,” she says, about the second assassination attempt on the former president in less than two months at the hands of Ryan Wesley Roth, who, through a hole he made in the fence of the Trump International Golf Club, located about 10 minutes away by car, tried to shoot, although he did not do so, at the former president while he was playing golf. However, he was surprised by a Secret Service agent who made him flee by shooting after seeing how the barrel of his gun was sticking out from between the bushes where he had been hiding for 12 hours. Shortly afterwards he was arrested on the I-95 highway thanks to the collaboration of citizens.
Do you think anyone will try again? “I don’t know, that’s already two times and that’s too many, right? How did the shooter know that Trump was going to be at the golf club at that time? There’s something wrong with all this,” explains Gorgine, who has always lived in Palm Beach, but has never entered the club because they don’t let her in. “I have friends who have seen the inside, but they’ve never let me in,” she says. Gorgine dresses modestly and will never be able to live in the mansions that surround the place. However, her support for the billionaire ex-president is unwavering. “I will vote for him, no matter what,” he says, without hesitation, referring to the possibility that an episode of political violence could occur again.
This is a significant concern, especially with less than 50 days to go before the presidential election. Factors such as extreme polarization, fake news, inflammatory rhetoric, and the activity of extremist groups continue to increase tensions between political camps. The spectre of the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 remains very much present.
Extremist groups like the Proud Boys continue to demonstrate their willingness to use violence at election-related events, especially at places like polling stations and political conventions. Meanwhile, Donald Trump continues to add fuel to the fire of those who believe the 2020 election was stolen from him. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security believe the likelihood of large-scale civil conflict is low, but some Trump supporters don’t see it that way.
“If Kamala wins, a lot of people will be unhappy. What do we have to do if the election is stolen from us again?” asks JD, one of Trump’s supporters who is walking in front of the entrance to the golf club where Routh tried to assassinate the Republican candidate. “It is very possible that, as happened in 2020, many people will not accept the situation. Democrats talk, but they do not lead by example,” he concludes, regarding the statements of both the president of the country, Joe Bidenas well as the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harriswho have publicly said that “Violence has no place in politics” North American, thus reiterating the importance of national unity to maintain the integrity of its democratic system.