For almost a decade, Mar-a-Lago has been the destination for Republicans aligning themselves with former President Donald Trump.
From House speakers to congressional candidates, politicians have made the pilgrimage with the goal of currying favor with the man who will lead the party for a third presidential cycle in a row.
But with Trump stuck in New York City for his hush money trial, Republicans have found a new place to flock: the courtroom where the former president, charged with falsifying business records, will be cooped up for the next several weeks.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led a lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results, appeared there two weeks ago, closer to the start of his trial, while Trump has been joined by congressional allies from Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) to Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) over the last few days.
On Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will visit the courthouse, as will former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
The appearances provide a visual to counterprogram the charges against Trump. Republicans have endlessly denounced the case, centered on his alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels, as politically motivated, but the venue provides a chance to stand beside him literally.
It also offers those making the trip a heavy dose of media attention. His allies have spent time in the court room itself, while appearing behind Trump as he briefs reporters before each day’s proceedings. The visits are usually capped off with a separate press conference.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said he wanted to attend the trial on Monday to pay respects to his friend and lamented the court was being disrespectful to the former president by addressing him as “Mr. Trump.”
“The Republican candidate for president of the United States is going through mental anguish in a courtroom that’s very depressing,” Tuberville told cameras outside the trial, flanked by Vance and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY).
Mar-a-Lago remains the epicenter of GOP politics. Trump continues to host fundraisers there even as he must be present for the trial most weekdays. Earlier this month, he gathered donors and party leaders at the ritzy Palm Beach, Florida, resort for a weekend retreat.
Yet the trips to New York underscore how central the case, one of four against the former president, is to his run for the White House. The hush money prosecution is the first to go to trial, but Trump is also charged with mishandling classified documents and for election interference related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Democrats say Trump, who denies all of the charges, brought the cases upon himself with careless and even intentional violations of the law, but Republicans believe he is being prosecuted at the behest of his political rival, President Joe Biden.
The trial has offered his allies a fresh chance to air those grievances. Last Thursday, Scott traveled there to compare the prosecutions against Trump to the Medicare fraud investigation against his healthcare company more than two decades ago.
They also lend the former president surrogates who can criticize the prosecution in ways he cannot. Trump, under a gag order, has been fined for painting the prosecutors working the case as corrupt, while he has targeted family members of Judge Juan Merchan as well.
At his press conference, Scott called the lead prosecutor a “criminal thug” and Merchan’s daughter a “political operative.”
Spokespeople for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and New York court system have not responded to requests for comment.
Ultimately, the trial is a chance for Republicans to reinforce their relationships with the former president. The Trump campaign has not asked any of his allies to travel to New York City, according to a campaign official who predicted that supporters would attend throughout the trial.
But Mar-a-Lago will continue to be the default venue for politicians looking to make inroads with the former president. Johnson met with Trump there last month to tamp down a brewing House rebellion, while other Republicans hold fundraisers in the hope that Trump will stop by.
“I call it the MAGA mecca,” said Alex Bruesewitz, a pro-Trump operative who moved to Palm Beach in 2019. “If you want to raise money in Republican politics in 2024, you have to have Trump’s name involved.”
Scott, running for a second term in the Senate, has used Mar-a-Lago to stoke speculation he will launch another bid for GOP leader after Trump encouraged his unsuccessful run in 2022. He traveled there in March, telling reporters at the time his trip was in part to convey his possible interest in the leadership race.
In the case of Vance, the appearance in New York City raised instant speculation he is auditioning to be Trump’s vice presidential nominee. On Sunday, he defended the former president on CNN and will appear with him in Cincinnati on Wednesday for a fundraiser.
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However, two sources close to Vance rejected the notion that his travel schedule has anything to do with VP “parlor games.”
“J.D. would be defending Trump on TV and raising him money even if his name wasn’t in the mix for VP,” said one source, citing the “intense amount of loyalty” Vance has toward Trump for supporting his 2022 Senate campaign.
