President Donald Trump soon could return to his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach to raise money for a PAC that supports his agenda.
Trump is expected to be the keynote speaker at a $1 million-per-plate fundraiser for super PAC MAGA Inc. on Oct. 17, according to an invitation obtained by CNN. The visit would be his first trip back to the island since spring.
It would be an earlier-than-usual return to Palm Beach for Trump ahead of the island’s social season, and before the Mar-a-Lago Club has its season-opening party on Halloween.
Trump’s arrival would also mean that the road next to Mar-a-Lago would close.
The U.S. Secret Service declined to comment on the president’s schedule. Palm Beach officials also declined to comment.
When Trump is at his Palm Beach home, the Secret Service tightens security around Mar-a-Lago and shuts down South Ocean Boulevard between the Southern Boulevard traffic circle and South County Road. Security around all of Trump’s properties was hardened following the July 13 attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“In general, residents, businesses and commuters should be advised that road closures on S. Ocean Boulevard can be expected during the open season of the Mar-a-Lago Club when President Trump is in residence,” a Secret Service official said. “Residents and businesses can anticipate similar traffic restrictions and processes that were in effect earlier this year. Specific road closures and traffic impacts will be communicated by the Palm Beach Police Department.”
It’s unclear how long Trump would stay in Palm Beach. South Ocean Boulevard, which is also State Road A1A along that stretch, typically closes about 24 hours before Trump’s scheduled arrival and reopens soon after he leaves.
Palm Beach will coordinate with the Secret Service, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and other partners to make sure there is a traffic plan whenever Trump does return to Palm Beach, Town Manager Kirk Blouin said. He did not comment on the possibility of an Oct. 17 visit by Trump to Mar-a-Lago.
Town officials worked with PBSO and the Secret Service in the off-season to fine-tune the road closure next to Mar-a-Lago, Blouin said. It’s a plan the town, federal and regional officials have been working on since 2016 when Trump was elected to his first term in the White House.
“It’s gotten better,” Blouin said. “Each year, the plans have gotten more defined.”
The town does receive some complaints from people who need to access the security zone, and those comments are passed along to the appropriate agency, whether that is PBSO or the Secret Service, Blouin said.
“There’s always initial frustration” when the road is closed, he said. It will be a disruption, but the effects on traffic should not be as bad as when South Ocean Boulevard next to Mar-a-Lago closes during season, Blouin said.
Road work elsewhere in town could add to the congestion, but the town will work to mitigate any issues that could arise, he said.
“In our discussions with PBSO and the Secret Service, they did assure us that they’ll try to make it as efficient as possible, meaning closing the road at the appropriate times,” Blouin said.
With so many dynamics in play, including construction and the possibility of unscheduled bridge openings or another issue that backs up traffic elsewhere on the island, the town does its best to plan accordingly, Palm Beach Police spokesman Sgt. Michael Ogrodnick said.
“We’re planning ahead and we’re putting resources in place,” he said, speaking generally of Trump’s expected return for Palm Beach’s social season.
Palm Beach’s population has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic, but as a barrier island, the town has not been able to grow as well, Ogrodnick said. “We do the best we can, and we just ask for patience,” he said.
Town residents, visitors, business owners and employees can sign up at townofpalmbeach.com for Palm Beach’s alert system to receive notifications about road closures and detours.
Trump has visited Mar-a-Lago 10 times since taking office on Jan. 20. His most recent visit to the island was from May 1-4.
The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to issue temporary flight restrictions for Palm Beach that typically would precede a planned presidential visit to the town. Such advisories have served since Trump’s first term in office as reliable indicators of the timing and duration of his trips to Mar-a-Lago.
Security changes planned around Mar-a-Lago
Palm Beach residents can expect a few changes around Mar-a-Lago as the island heads into the new social season.
New signs are set to be installed around Mar-a-Lago’s perimeter before season to warn would-be trespassers that they could face up to five years in prison under a new Florida law, a Secret Service spokesperson previously told the Daily News.
The new law aims to deter incidents by making it a third-degree felony to trespass at sites that are protected by law enforcement when a sign is posted that says the area is a designated restricted site and anyone who trespasses there commits a felony.
The bill, HB 1447, was approved by state lawmakers in April and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 16.
Mar-a-Lago also filed a request with the town to reinstall the helipad that had been approved during Trump’s first term and had been on the estate’s west lawn. Town records show that the proposed helipad would be larger, which a Mar-a-Lago representative previously told the Daily News was needed to accommodate the larger helicopters that are now used to serve as Marine One, the term for a helicopter that carries the president.
The original helipad was built in 2017 and demolished in 2021 after Trump left office, a condition issued by the Town Council when the pad’s design was approved.
The new helipad plans are scheduled to be reviewed by Palm Beach’s Landmarks Preservation Commission at the Oct. 22 meeting.
Trump to visit Miami in November
Trump is scheduled to be in Miami on Nov. 5 to speak at the America Business Forum at the Kaseya Center, which is the home arena of the NBA’s Miami Heat.
Palm Beach Post Politics and Business Editor Antonio Fins contributed to this report.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Trump could soon return to Palm Beach for Mar-a-Lago fundraiser
Reporting by Kristina Webb, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
