11/20/2018

TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is back in his comfort zone at the ‘winter White House’: Mar-a-Lago, where women in furs and men in diamond jewelry and monogrammed slippers mingle with Sylvester Stallone and Fabio at New Year’s Eve celebrations and Don King rubs elbows with Cabinet members, could-be ambassadors and the ‘MyPillow’ guy at dinner. As he departed Washington for Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday [11-20-18], Trump said he’d be doing ‘a lot of work’ while in Florida, but the club also serves as his refuge from Washington. All presidents have had their favorite retreats: George H.W. Bush’s family had a compound in Kennebunkport, Maine; George W. Bush loved his ranch in Crawford, Texas; and Barack Obama savored winter getaways to his home state of Hawaii. But none has drawn the fascination — or raised the ethical issues — of Mar-a-Lago, where Trump spends his time mixing work, business and pleasure in the company of dues-paying members. It’s one of the many ways in which Trump has transformed the presidency and managed to hold onto the life he had before taking office.”

The Associated Press, “Trump Arrives at His Comfort Zone at ‘Winter White House’,” The New York Times online, November 20, 2018