Democratic Florida State Rep. calls for Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort to be shut down for hosting 'super-spreader' New Year's Eve party
A Democratic Florida state representative has called for President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to be fined and shut down after the Palm Beach club hosted a maskless ‘superspreader’ event on New Year’s Eve.
While Donald Trump was not in attendance for the $1,000-per-head party on Thursday, his children Don Jr., Eric and Tiffany were, alongside a number of the president’s allies, including Rudy Giuliani.
Footage from the New Year’s Eve gala later emerged on social media, showing dozens of maskless guests packed in closely together on a dancefloor, singing and dancing along to performances from the likes of Vanilla Ice and Berlin's Terri Nunn.
An outraged Rep. Omari Hardy, a Democrat from Palm Beach, posted a series of tweets over the weekend, insisting the Mar-a-Lago event violated a local mask mandate and called for the resort to be sanctioned.
‘Mar-a-Lago is a club. A club is a business. Businesses must comply with Palm Beach County's mask order,’ Hardy wrote in an email to Todd Bonlarron, the assistant county administrator for Palm Beach County, which he shared to Twitter.
‘I recognize that the President is a powerful person and that his business, Mar-a-Lago, is a daunting target for enforcement, but the law is the law.’
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Trump’s eldest son, Don Jr., shared a video of himself to Facebook during Vanilla Ice's performance at the party, which included renditions of his hit song ‘Ice, Ice Baby’ and a cover of Wild Cherry’s ‘Play that Funky Music’
The Trumps: The president's children gathered at his Mar-a-Lago estate for his annual New Year's Eve gala on Thursday
A number of the president’s allies, including Rudy Giuliani, were also in attendance (Giuliani is pictured with Republican candidate George Santos, whose fiance was allegedly fired from his job as a pharmacist after images of the pair at the event emerged online)
A mask order in Palm Beach, which was recently extended by county officials through January 20, requires the wearing of masks in public spaces when social distancing is not possible and while a person is working in or patronizing a business.
Hardy said the event had the potential to be a ‘super-spreader’ and that the resort should not be allowed to flagrantly disregard the mandate.
Rep. Omari Hardy, a Democrat from Palm Beach, posted a series of tweets over the weekend calling for Mar-A-Lago to be fined and closed
In a second tweet, sharing footage captured by Don Jr. of the event, Hardy wrote: ‘My constituents live here. This is their home, and they’re going to have to deal with the consequences of a potential super-spreader party at Mar-a-Lago long after Junior Donald J. Trump Jr. and wife leave here on their private jet.’
‘We cannot allow businesses and business owners to openly flout our mask order,’ Hardy continued. ‘This kind of open noncompliance endangers the public health and encourages more noncompliance, which in turn, further endangers the public health.’
Hardy is requesting Mar-a-Lago be sanctioned with harsh fines and that a possible shutdown be applied to the resort just like what would occur for other businesses that violate local public health orders.
‘The law still applies to the President and to his business,’ Hardy reiterated.
Trump left South Florida for DC on December 31 before that evening's Mar-a-Lago event. He and First Lady Melania were forced to forgo the festivities on Thursday to resolve the highly-anticipated COVID relief bill.
But in his absence, still hundreds of guests gathered at the Palm Beach resort.
Hardy said the event had the potential to be a ‘super-spreader’ and that the resort should not be allowed to curtail Palm Beach’s mask mandate
Tickets to the event were going for $1,000 each, one person attending the gala told DailyMail.com.
Though it remains unclear specifically how many guests were in attendance, CNN reported Wednesday that at least 500 people had reserved tickets.
The New Year's Eve gala is an annual tradition that pre-dates Trump's time in the White House. Last year, Trump walked the red carpet with his wife Melania and their son Barron.
Trump’s eldest son, Don Jr., shared a video of himself to Facebook during Vanilla Ice's performance at the party, which included renditions of his hit song ‘Ice, Ice Baby’ and a cover of Wild Cherry’s ‘Play that Funky Music’.
‘Ok this is amazing. Vanilla Ice is playing the Mar-a-Lago New Years Eve party,’ the president's son wrote alongside the video. ‘As a child of the 90s you can't fathom how awesome that is. Beyond that I got the birthday shoutout so that's pretty amazing.’
The video shows Trump Jr. and a mostly maskless crowd crammed together near the stage.
Vanilla Ice – real name Robert Van Winkle – has since defended his decision to perform at the event, calling it ‘awesome’.
‘We danced. We celebrated. We had a great time,’ he said in a statement. ‘It was a very classy event at a beautiful Palm Beach landmark.’
He also said everyone in attendance had been cleared after taking COVID-19 tests prior to the event.
‘I think everyone just wants to get out and dance and have fun,’ he said. ‘We've all been marinating, trapped in our houses. It's not about politics at all. This is about dancing and enjoying New Year's.’
Video taken by Trump Jr. shows a mostly maskless crowd crammed together near the stage as Vanilla Ice (seen right) performs
‘Ok this is amazing. Vanilla Ice is playing the Mar-a-Lago New Years Eve party,’ the president's son wrote alongside the video
Eric Trump, 36, shared a photo alongside wife Lara as they celebrated the end of 2020 at the Palm Beach resort
Rep Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican who recently proposed to girlfriend Ginger Luckey (not pictured) at the resort, was among the guests on Thursday night
Other performers reportedly included Teri Nunn, lead singer of the 1970s and 1980s new-wave band Berlin as well as Al Jardine and Mike Love of The Beach Boys.
Nunn, meanwhile, has since apologized for making an appearance, slamming the Trump resort for a ‘lack of regard’ for the pandemic.
‘I am truly sorry I performed at Mar-a-Lago and would not have done so if I’d known what I learned while I was there,’ Nunn wrote in a post to Berlin’s Facebook page.
‘My goal in performing was not to support a political party. I see now that that’s not the way it appeared and I am apologetic for that as well.’
Nunn contended that she was taken by surprise by the absence of masks and social distancing at the party.
‘The contract stated it was a small Covid-safe event for the members of Mar-a-Lago,’ she continued. “Unfortunately it was not Covid-safe anywhere in Florida. I had no idea masks and social distancing were not required. I thought I was current on all Covid news everywhere, but clearly I was not.’
She continued: ‘I was shocked by Florida and Mar-a-Lago’s lack of regard for the pandemic, and if I’d known I would never have gone. Once I fulfilled my contractual obligation, I left the event as quickly as I could. It is a mistake I regret. I took a Covid 19 test yesterday and tested negative.’
As of Tuesday, Florida has reported 1.38 million cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began, and more than 22,000 deaths.
