Palm Beach officials have reportedly been meeting with the Secret Service near Mar-a-Lago to discuss security arrangements if Donald Trump decides to run for president again, according to the Palm Beach Post.
With a possible 2024 run in the offing, and with Trump having changed his official residency to Florida with his private club as his home, officials in the resort town have questions about the impact on their town outside of the usual pilgrimages from supporters of the former president.
According to the report, "A Trump 2024 presidential bid has not been announced, however, law enforcement agencies near Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private beach club, have met at least twice to prepare, the Palm Beach Post has learned," adding that last Tuesday Secret Service agents "called a meeting with local law enforcement officials at Mar-a-Lago to discuss security arrangements in case Trump enters the 2024 presidential race."
The Post added that this was not the first such meeting.
"It's possible the U.S. Secret Service met with local law enforcement near Mar-a-Lago to figure out a strategy for an influx of people on the island and across the bridge into West Palm Beach if Trump were to announce a run for the White House," the Post suggested. "When Trump was president, his presence would result in an increased number of people coming and going from the area. In Palm Beach, the narrow, barrier island on which Mar-a-Lago is located, traffic was delayed and diverted when he was in town. Security checkpoints set up by secret service further slowed the flow of cars."
The report also notes that there are questions whether Mar-a-Lago -- a private club -- can legally be used to host the campaign as well as concerns about the cost to the city, with the Post reporting the "Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Palm Beach Police and West Palm Beach Police reported racking up almost $10 million in overtime pay between 2017 and mid-2019 for the days Trump was in town."
In 2016, the HuffPost reported that the soon-to-be president "jacked up" the rent when he headquartered his campaign in Trump Tower once he had access to campaign donations, almost quintupling the monthly rent to $169,758 after previously self-funding.
For the Trump's losing 2020 campaign the former president rented out office space to his campaign and had collected over $1.6 million in rent, Forbes reported last September -- weeks before the election.
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