PALM BEACH — Former President Donald Trump entered the new year Saturday night with hundreds of Mar-a-Lago members and a handful of political cronies, marking some notable setbacks for the former president in both the legal and political spheres. We have concluded a successful year. .
For the past few years, Hollywood celebrities have attended the annual New Year’s Eve party held at the Palm Beach Club. But this year, the most notable people to attend the gala in gorgeous black ties and long gowns were the former president’s political circles, including pollster Dick Morris, legal counsel Rudy Giuliani and pillow maker Mike Lindell. All walked the red carpet but did not comment on Trump or their expectations for 2023.
Trump’s second son, Eric, and his wife, Lara, also attended. But it didn’t look like the two other adult children who have stood out in Trump’s political endeavours, Donald Jr. and his daughter Ivanka, were at the event.
Staying in the Politics Conversation: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter
What did Trump say at the event?
Trump, who announced his 2024 White House candidacy in November, briefly spoke to the media as he and Melania Trump entered the ballroom.
Trump says he hopes the Russia-Ukraine war will be “resolved very quickly”, says he’s bullish on his 2023 campaign, and poll numbers look “great” He added that he received several of the , but did not provide any details.
“We need a strong border and we need it now,” he said, adding, “We have to revive the economy…inflation is destroying our country.”
But Trump has questioned Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ demand for a COVID vaccine investigation, the key legacies of Trump’s first term at the White House, and whether he supported a nationwide abortion ban. He also did not answer questions about how he should observe this week, the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 riots and attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol.
What did the event look like?
What else is going on with Trump?
The festivities ended 2022 with a series of significant setbacks and losses for Trump.
The former president has been blamed for failing to win a majority in the Senate for Republicans, dominating the House with a thin and fragile majority, and losing a coveted governor. convicted of the business of
A week after starting his campaign, Mr. Trump made a political move by having dinner with Kanye West, now known as Ye, and white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. caused a big fuss. West recently made a series of overtly anti-Semitic remarks.
A House panel investigating the January violence issued a lengthy report in late December, completing its work by releasing transcripts of witness interviews. Year. Later, another House committee released Trump’s tax returns, showing he paid minimal taxes in his first and last years as president.
Other investigations have swirled around Trump, including a Justice Department inquiry into why the former president kept government documents, including top-secret files, in Mar-a-Lago, and the 2020 election. Such as his efforts to later pressure Georgia election officials to find his thousands of votes. .
How is Trump dealing with voters heading into 2023?
A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released last month found that 61% of Republican voters surveyed said they want someone other than Trump to be the party’s nominee in 2024. % to 33%.
Last week, Trump stirred up talk of a third-party candidacy if he doesn’t win the Republican nomination next year. He shared his Truth Social headline “The Coming Split” article calling on him to seek the presidency as a non-president. Republican Party.
Deeper
Troubled Trump: Republican support for his 2024 candidacy drops amid political and legal setbacks
wrap up: What we know about 6,000 pages of Trump’s tax returns, Republican responses and more
Read the Trump Taxes PDF: Donald Trump’s tax returns have been released.See dozens of files here
Transcript for January 6th: Ginny Thomas regrets election plot text, Proud Boys leader tours White House
Antonio Fins is the political and business editor for the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can contact him at afins@pbpost.com. Please support our journalism. Subscribe now.
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Donald Trump’s New Year’s Eve Party at Mar-a-Lago: Who Was There