Donald Trump loves his Palm Beach home and social club because it's the only place where no one can make fun of him, according to MAGA artist who draws flattering portraits of the former president.
Scott Lobaido, a Staten Islander first made headlines in 2016 when someone set his pro-Trump sign on fire, now creates hagiographic portraits that were recently on display at Mar-a-Lago during an event to honor the artist, the Washington Post reports.
"Outside the compound walls, Lobaido said, Trump is often 'ridiculed wherever he goes,'" reports the Post. "But Mar-a-Lago is his 'castle” and his 'comfort zone' and a place to be surrounded by 'like-minded people.'"
Post writers Ben Terris and Josh Dawsey describe those like-minded people with less than flattering terms in their sprawling insider's look at what they dub "Trump's happy place."
As guests enjoy lamb lollipops, enormous lobsters and "Mr. President’s Wedge Salad,” they partake in an going game that rivals those played on the golf course: sucking up, the Post writers contend.
"In the eyes of his adoring fans at Mar-a-Lago, he can do no wrong," the Post reports. "There is often a swarm of well-wishers, suck-ups and freelance advisers who — much to the chagrin of his actual advisers — often find a way to get his ear."
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In recent years, those guests have included Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist who disseminate antisemitic rhetoric; Hungary's authoritarian leader Victor Orbán; conspiracy theorist and MyPillow CEO Mike LindellMike Lindell; and Roseanne Barr, the Post reports.
"The place had something of a porous border, in that members were allowed to bring guests of their choosing," Trump's former press aide Stephanie Grisham told the Post. "In practice, this could mean never knowing whether the dining rooms were filled with foreign nationals, kooks or bad actors."
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Grisham told the Post these guests posed a problem during Trump's term in the White House.
"Because Trump liked to dine out in the open, there were times in which it felt like anyone inside the walls of Mar-a-Lago could have unfettered access to the commander in chief," the report notes.
But Trump remains unlikely to halt the grand galas at his Florida social club, the Post concludes, for a reason that varies from Lobaido's.
"Trump has long enjoyed bringing honored guests to his club," the Post argues, "just as long as he gets to be the most honored among them."
