Palm Beach residents are gearing up for Donald Trump's move to their community after losing the 2020 presidential election and are already expressing misgivings about the idea that he will be a permanent resident and not just an occasional visitor stopping in at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
With the president abandoning New York City where he is reportedly no longer welcome after four years in office, Trump will be making his new home in Florida -- Palm Beach in particular -- with reports he might buy a new home in the area instead of taking up permanent residence at his resort.
According to Politico, this has some locals worried that he will be followed by his family and hangers-on who want to stay close to him and what they see as a "president in exile."
Politico's Meredith McGraw reports, "In anticipation of Trump setting up permanent residence at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach after leaving the White House in January, Trump allies, conservative media firebrands and MAGA-boosting activist groups are setting up the next Trumpy hub of GOP power."
The report notes that outside conservative groups -- including CPAC and Turning Point USA -- that have hitched their wagons to Trump's star are already moving their events to Florida and away from the political media hubs of New York City and Washington DC.
That has residents of the upscale Palm Beach community afraid of what comes next, fearing their town will become "MAGA central."
Pointing out that Trump and his wife Melania will be joined in Florida by daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner who have bought property there-- as well as Eric Trump and his wife Lara if they don't move to North Carolina so she can run for a U.S. Senate seat -- the Politico report states, "Taken together, the moves will inevitably make the Palm Beach area and Florida ground zero for the MAGA movement, giving Trump convenient access to potential donors and some of his most devoted allies as he plots a potential 2024 comeback bid."
The report goes on to state that the flood of newcomers worries locals that their town will be overrun with outsiders as it becomes a Mecca for Trump sycophants.
"But while GOP operatives in Florida are happy to orbit near the new center of the Republican universe, many longtime residents are rolling their eyes. While they're breathing a sigh of relief that traffic congestion from road closures will be coming to an end, they're anxious about what Trump's permanent presence might mean — including a potential presidential library and museum that could become a tourist destination for MAGA world," McGraw wrote before adding, "One adviser to Trump even envisioned a kind of Trump-themed amusement park."
According to Matthew Swift, a Palm Beach resident, "I completely understand why he and his whole family wants to be in Florida. The president is incredibly popular here [but] people are certainly curious how it will work with the development of a presidential library and any other center the president plans to develop."
"Before Trump even formally moves to Palm Beach, some potential neighbors have already raised concerns about him living at what he calls his 'Winter White House' full time, claiming he agreed not to use the club as a full-time residence," Politico reports. "In the past, the president has clashed with the town over planes flying over the club, and he's expected to butt heads with the community over the use of his helipad on property."
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