Palm Beach, Florida officials are looking for a way to address the indefinite closing of a road in the city that runs near former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
And one remedy could be shutting down the Mar-a-Lago Club that operates on the property.
“The Palm Beach Council on Tuesday directed town staff to research what might be able to be done about the July 20 shutdown of South Ocean Boulevard,” the Palm Beach Daily Times reported.
The Secret Service directed the road closed in the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“That curve at South Ocean Boulevard sits 75 yards from the front door of Mar-a-Lago,” former Secret Service agent Paul Eckloff explained to the Daily News.
A training guide for public safety officers put out by the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI and other government agencies recommends a mandatory evacuation of 106 yards for cars, 130 for SUVs or vans and about 213 yards for small trucks, given their ability to be loaded with explosives.
However, Palm Beach Mayor Danielle Moore accused Trump of trying to have it both ways.
“In my mind, if the road is closed, the Mar-a-Lago Club is closed,” Moore said Tuesday, after Council Member Julie Araskog brought up the issue of what happens when the club reopens in the fall as the summer heat subsides and more people flock to the city.
“There’s no way in God’s green earth that they can bring 350 people into that club. It’s completely illogical that you’ve got a road closed and then you’re going to let 350 strangers into your club,” the mayor said.
BREAKING: The Mayor of Palm Beach is considering shutting down Mar-a-Lago and kicking Trump out of his own house
“In my mind, if the road is closed, the Mar-a-Lago Club is closed… You can’t have it both ways, boys and girls” – Mayor Danielle Moore
After the attempt on Trump’s… pic.twitter.com/hWaAqrsp82
— George (@BehizyTweets) August 15, 2024
She contended that increasing security around Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s primary residence, and permitting hundreds of people to attend events at the club are inconsistent.
“You can’t have it both ways, boys and girls,” Moore said. “Either the club’s open or not.”
In 1993, the Town Council authorized Trump to operate Mar-a-Lago as a private social club permitting a “special exception use in a Palm Beach residential zoning district,” according to the Daily News.
“The club’s operation also is governed by the declaration-of-use agreement. If the town finds that there have been any violations of the agreement, Palm Beach can revoke Mar-a-Lago’s occupational license,” the news outlet added.
“Officials have also questioned in past discussions whether health and safety issues raised by neighbors could be reason to remove the special exception that allows Mar-a-Lago to operate as a private club.”
Trump resides at the property under a town zoning code that says a “bona fide employee” can live there.
If the city were to force the club to shut down, it is not clear how that would impact Trump’s ability to continue to make Mar-a-Lago his home.
