Assassination ‘was a Mar-a-Lago decision’: Here’s how generals could have blocked it if Trump had been in DC

The hostilities with Iran may have been averted if President Donald Trump had not been vacationing at his Mar-a-Lago resort, an expert on his Florida compound explained on MSNBC on Friday.

"Donald Trump goes down to Mar-a-Lago a lot -- especially during the winter," MSNBC anchor Katy Tur said. "As the owner, he's always been vetted as a rock star there, but my next guest now it's different, now he's being treated to something more akin to a God."

For analysis, Tur interviewed journalist Laurence Leamer, the author of the 2018 book Mar-A-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace.

"So Larry, you say it's taken on more of a cult-like atmosphere," Tur said.

"It's this atmosphere of endless stroking which I think is unhealthy for the leader of our country," Leamer said.

"In fact, the assassination of General Suleimani in a way is a Mar-a-Lago decision. I'm not sure if he's been in the Oval Office and his aides and generals had talked about the consequences of killing this evil man if he would have gone ahead. But that's what Mar-a-Lago is for him and he needs it, he's hungry for it."

"It's more like a cult the longer he's there," Leamer added.

The host also examined whether there might have been insider trading connected to Mar-a-Lago in the hours between when the strike was conducted and when the Pentagon claimed credit for the assassination.

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