RACISM/TRUMP BUSINESS: “With its ornate 20,000-square-foot ballroom and manicured lawns, President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., is often the site of elaborate fund-raisers, drawing big charities — and big dollars.
But several organizations are having a change of heart since Mr. Trump blamed ‘both sides’ for the violence in Charlottesville, Va., after a white nationalist rally and an attack by a driver that left a woman dead. There were ‘very fine people on both sides,’ Mr. Trump said.
Over the weekend, the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach and the Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society became the latest nonprofit groups to cancel galas at Mar-a-Lago.
‘Given the current environment surrounding Mar-a-Lago, we have made the decision to move our annual dinner dance,’ the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach said in a post on Saturday on its Facebook page.
On Sunday [8-20-17], the Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society followed suit, saying in a statement that its 2018 black tie Tropical Safari Gala will not be at Mar-a-Lago, because ‘it is important that we not allow distractions to deter us from our mission and culture.’
The Trump Organization, a conglomerate of Mr. Trump’s businesses, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Large nonprofits began peeling away from Mar-a-Lago on Thursday. The Washington Post reported that the American Cancer Society, the Cleveland Clinic and the American Friends of Magen David Adom all announced they would not be holding fund-raisers at the oceanside resort.
On Friday, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Susan G. Komen also canceled events at Mar-a-Lago.”
-Christina Caron, “More Charities Cancel Fund-Raisers at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club,” The New York Times online, Aug. 20, 2017