President Trump’s private social club in Palm Beach, Fla., hosted a New Year’s Eve gala at which revelers without masks dined indoors and danced to performances by Vanilla Ice and members of the Beach Boys.
Mr. Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, unexpectedly returned to the White House hours before the party, which he had originally planned to attend. It was unclear why Mr. Trump flew back to Washington, where he has not appeared in public since his return.
But members of the president’s family and extended political circle partied on anyway at an event that flouted warnings against indoor gatherings during the holidays as the coronavirus surges to its deadliest levels yet. The gala also appeared to violate specific guidelines posted on the Palm Beach County website mandating facial coverings in “all businesses and establishments.” More than 500 guests were expected, according to The Palm Beach Post.
Attendees included Mr. Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and his girlfriend, the former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle. Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer and a former New York mayor, was shown in online footage ballroom-dancing with a female partner to a rendition of “New York, New York.”
One photo posted online by Eric Trump featured at least 15 party guests and one server in the background. Only the server wore a mask.
Tickets to the event reportedly cost $1,000.
As the new year approached on Thursday night, Mr. Trump continued to spread false claims of voter fraud. Less than 15 minutes before midnight, as millions of Americans were preparing to toast the arrival of 2021, Mr. Trump tweeted two clips from the right-wing One America News Network promoting conspiracy theories about the election.
On Friday, Mr. Trump also tweeted a complaint after Congress voted for the first time to override one of his vetoes, upholding the passage of a sweeping military spending bill. The president complained that Congress had not approved the larger economic stimulus checks he had demanded.
“Now they want to give people ravaged by the China Virus $600, rather than the $2000 which they so desperately need,” he wrote. “Not fair, or smart!”
— Michael Crowley The New York Times
Me: $1,000 tickets to a Coronavirus party – hopefully and who is f****** who?