In a stern message delivered during a town council meeting on Tuesday, Palm Beach Town Council President Margaret Zeidman issued a public warning to former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort following a string of complaints about traffic mismanagement at the esteemed club.
The discussion revolved around the escalating issue of guests’ vehicles stacking up and causing significant traffic disruptions on the roads leading to Mar-a-Lago. Zeidman expressed the town’s growing frustration, stating, “Either get your act together, or we will get it together for you. We’re not gonna continue to have the residents put at a disadvantage like this.”
Newsweek sought comments from Zeidman via email and Mar-a-Lago through an online form, with responses pending as of Friday.
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“If in the end we have to restrict, if we can, their events, then we will do so,” warned Zeidman during the meeting. Such restrictions could pose a challenge for Trump, the GOP front-runner in the 2024 presidential election.
Mar-a-Lago, which recently hosted two major fundraising events, including one on October 26 that generated approximately $6 million, has been at the center of traffic-related controversies. Zeidman revealed that the traffic from Trump’s fundraiser even caused delays for the Safeguard Palm Beach South End Safety Forum held on the same day.
“Everybody was late, and they had to start it a half hour later because of an event in Mar-a-Lago,” Zeidman said.
Complaints extended to a 250-person event held on Monday at Mar-a-Lago, where ride-share vehicles and private shuttle buses contributed to traffic snarls. Zeidman criticized the lack of proper communication on traffic management between event organizers and security at the club, stating, “One hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing.”
No motions were passed during Tuesday’s meeting, but the council plans to revisit the issue in December.
Meanwhile, Trump faces the risk of losing Mar-a-Lago altogether due to an ongoing civil fraud lawsuit in New York. New York Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump of fraudulently inflating the value of his properties and assets to secure favorable bank loans and tax breaks. New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, overseeing the trial, has ruled that Trump committed fraud and is deliberating on the amount Trump will pay in damages. Possible outcomes include a ban on Trump doing business in New York state, removal of properties from his control, or a hefty fine amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
