President Donald Trump arrived in Palm Beach on Oct. 31 after adamantly doubling down on the GOP position as the 31-day government shutdown nears a record.
The president landed at 1:38 p.m. at Palm Beach International Airport. The White House pool reporters traveling with the president did not mention who was accompanying Trump aboard Air Force One.
In two social media posts fired off before the president returned to his home county, he demanded Senate Republican leaders end the filibuster rule and called Obamacare a “disaster.” The federal health insurance program is at the heart of the Capitol Hill stalemate on funding government operations going forward.
“As I have said for years, OBAMACARE IS A DISASTER! Rates are going through the roof for really bad healthcare!!! Do something Democrats!!!” Trump wrote in the first social media missive.
Trump followed up with an all capitalized post calling the Democratic opposition “stone cold crazy” and pressuring Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the GOP leadership in the chamber to enact the “nuclear option” by ending the filibuster rule — the 60-vote requirement to end debate.
Doing so would allow the simple Senate GOP majority to vote on the spending bill to reopen the government.
Trump: SNAP money helps ‘largely’ Democrats
The stakes in the partisan standoff in Washington are set to increase on Nov. 1 when money to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, run out. As many as 160,000 people in Palm Beach County depend on the food assistance program to stave off hunger.
As the deadline approached, food banks and other organizations were ramping up calls for donations from the public to address the imminent need.
After arriving at PBIA, Trump told reporters that he believed people depending on SNAP benefits are “largely” Democrats, and it is their party that has to support the funding bill.
“All the Democrats have to do is say, ‘Let’s go,’ ” the president said. “And you know, largely, when you talk about SNAP, you’re talking about largely Democrats. But I’m president. I want to help everybody. I want to help Democrats and the Republicans. But when you’re talking about SNAP, if you look, it’s largely Democrats. They’re hurting their own people.”
Democrats hold firm on Obamacare tax credits demand
Senate Democrats insist that Biden administration-era tax credits making the Affordable Care Act health insurance coverage financially accessible to millions of Americans must be extended before they vote to approve a funding bill that reopens the government.
Their colleagues in the Florida U.S. House delegation are in lockstep in support and point out the subsidy assists many of the 4.7 million people in the Sunshine State who depend on Obamacare to pay for proper health coverage.
“Many people who are on ACA, they’re regular people who are living with high blood pressure, have diabetes, some of them may have, you know, serious diseases like congestive heart failure or cancer,” said U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat who represents swaths of Palm Beach County, during a town hall in October.
“And so when they can’t afford their coverage, now they’re going to have to go without taking their insulin every week. They’re going to have to go without taking their medication for diabetes every week. And we know we have a large population of people who are suffering from this every single day, and now they’re going to be at risk to having all these crises.”
The longest government shutdown on record, which lasted 35 days, took place during Trump’s first term in office.
A couple dozen Trump supporters welcome president’s return
Roughly 30 supporters of the president erected flags, blasted music, and passed out candy as they anticipated the president’s arrival within view of Mar-a-Lago.
Multiple cars parked on Bingham Island just west of the Palm Beach compound were decorated with an array of U.S. flag decals, as well as large American flags, pro-Trump flag and flags commemorating slain conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
West Palm Beach native Sylvia Xiao said that before the assassination attempts against Trump last year, he’d often slow down, lower his window and wave to the crowd. She said she’s grateful to have the regular opportunity to catch the president’s motorcade.
“I feel so lucky I get to see President Trump all the time,” she said.
Carlos Alcazar noted that Trump’s Halloween visit also marked a rare opportunity, as the day’s winds meant that Air Force One would fly over Mar-a-Lago in its approach to PBIA, a sight that excited the group of supporters.
“This is only the second or third time he’s flown in this way,” the Royal Palm Beach native said.
Alcazar said normally the group welcoming the president numbers in the 60s or 80s, but that the midday Friday arrival meant many regular attendees could not attend.
Alan and Ivanka Suares of Boca Raton said they stopped by when they heard the news of the president’s arrival while having lunch in West Palm Beach.
“We didn’t come here with this purpose, but when we saw this crowd here we decided to stop by,” said Alan, who noted it would be his first time watching the president motorcade.
Trump at Mar-a-Lago: A dinner and Halloween party?
The White House offered scant details on how the president will spend his 12th visit to his residence at Mar-a-Lago. The president is expected to attend a MAGA Inc. dinner at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 1.
During the sojourns to Palm Beach, Trump usually visits his Trump International Golf Club in unincorporated West Palm Beach. Halloween also traditionally marks the reopening of the Mar-a-Lago Club to members after the summer slumber.
The social season in Palm Beach traditionally ramps up around Thanksgiving and slows down after Easter. The Mar-a-Lago Club usually closes after Mother’s Day.
The White House statement did not note who would attend the MAGA Inc. event. But the president has garnered financial support from billionaire Palm Beach neighbors for his remake of the East Wing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
The Palm Beach Daily News reported on Oct. 27 that donors with strong connections to Palm Beach, including Stephen Schwarzman, the Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation, J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul and the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation, have agreed to contribute to the $300 million project. Their names appeared on a list of people and organizations that was released by the White House on Oct. 22.
Crews have demolished the East Wing of the White House to make room for the 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The East Wing was added to the presidential mansion in 1902 and expanded 40 years later.
The administration has argued the addition of the ballroom is a necessity and will be “exquisite.” The America public is far from convinced.
An Oct. 30 poll issued by The Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos found 56% of those asked opposed the facility with just 28% in support.
Palm Beach Post reporter Anne Geggis contributed to this story.
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump to attend Mar-a-Lago MAGA Inc. event; Palm Beach billionaires back White House ballroom
Reporting by Antonio Fins and Diego Diaz Lasa, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
