Melania and Ivanka skipped the Mar-a-Lago New Year’s party, so Trump rang in 2024 with a Ninja Turtle and his Diet Coke valet.
This year promises to be a big year for Donald Trump. He could be reelected president of the United States or finally see serious legal consequences for his actions — or maybe both!
But even as Trump told Mar-a-Lago partygoers “We’re going to have a great 2024!” onstage on Sunday night, his heart didn’t seem in it. And he had several reasons to be down at his annual New Year’s Eve bash in Palm Beach, Florida.
First, Melania Trump was not by her husband’s side on New Year’s Eve or Christmas:
Melania Trump missing from festive family Christmas photo at Mar-a-Lago https://t.co/FGJKUAjlg7 pic.twitter.com/kheSfBlvzx
— Page Six (@PageSix) December 27, 2023
This wasn’t surprising, as Melania skipped almost all of her husband’s important public events in 2022, from his campaign launch to his multiple court appearances. But while the former First Lady’s previous absences seemed to signal her lack of interest in politics (or maybe her husband), Trump revealed that she was absent from the New Year’s party because her mother, Amalija Knavs, is very sick and she was with her at the hospital. “Hopefully that’ll be okay, but it’s a tough one. A very tough one,” Trump said.
President Trump at Mar-a-Lago on New Year's Eve 2023! pic.twitter.com/YmUSIJ8QHI
— Shannon Ford (@shannonfordUSA) January 1, 2024
Second, the Mar-a-Lago guest list left a lot to be desired. MAGA regulars Roger Stone, Judge Jeanine Pirro, Mike Lindell, and Rudy Giuliani were in attendance, according to theWrap, but few other boldface names. Onstage, Trump said all his children were at the party, then backtracked, explaining that one of them was on a ski trip (social-media posts revealed Ivanka was the missing Trump).
Third, the entertainment at Mar-a-Lago wasn’t doing much to lift the mood. There was an Elvis impersonator whom Trump watched with a serious expression while seated at a dining table:
The Elvis impersonator has Trump and his fellow geriatrics fired up and dancing in the aisles at Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/WNM79kABIQ
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 31, 2023
And the night’s headliner was ’90s rapper Vanilla Ice, who performed a song that wasn’t “Ninja Rap” with a guy in a Ninja Turtle costume:
I’M SORRY WHAT https://t.co/S4CU1pyuUe pic.twitter.com/uPf5PFesZq
— Tom Sauer (@thomasbsauer) January 1, 2024
Trump didn’t even bust out one of his signature “dad dance” moves when Vanilla Ice performed his one true hit, “Ice Ice Baby”; he just looked on with disapproval as partygoers were instructed to “stop — collaborate and listen”:
Omg Vanilla Ice rings in the New Year at Mar a Lago ???????????? pic.twitter.com/97YqtLLDBE
— Raheem. (@RaheemKassam) January 1, 2024
But the evening did have at least one silver lining for Trump. If you look closely at the footage above, you’ll see that Walt Nauta, Trump’s trusty Diet Coke valet–co-defendant was still right by his side.
