Trump’s security, dress codes and airport romance in Palm Beach

With President Trump spending so much time away from Washington at his home and club, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, there are good spin-offs and not-so-good spin-offs for Palm Beachers. One of the good ones is for the local hotels: his security guard is of such a size that they are being billeted all over town. Less good is the sheer cost of security. The city council has this month had to transfer $20 million to the sheriff’s department for the costs incurred so far, and anticipates a further $25 million expenditure in the course of the year. It expects to be reimbursed by the federal government, as it was during Trump’s first term as president, but it won’t be paid before the next financial year.

The most eye-catching sum in the accounts is $13 million paid for 100,000 hours of overtime, served during the election campaign and the first few weeks of this year. That works out at $130 an hour. But security is certainly needed. The whole world knows about the two attempts on Trump’s life — last July at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire and clipped the President’s ear, and then in September, Ryan Routh broke into the Trump International Golf Course, leaving at his home a note in which he stated his intent on assassination.

What is not known more generally are the frequent attempts to get to Trump. No fewer than eight have been made recently, all resulting in arrests, prison time and up to $100,000 in fines. None of the arrested is regarded as especially sinister, though one Chinese suspect went right back to Mar-a-Lago after his release and trespassed again.

Here is an ad from the latest Palm Beach Illustrated magazine: “Questions To Ask Your Divorce Lawyer.”

One: How many cases involving more than $1 billion have you taken to trial and what are the names of those cases?

Two: How many cases involving more than $100 million have you taken to trial and what are the names of those cases?

Three: How many cases have you taken to trial that lasted longer than ten trial days and what are the names of those cases?

Four: How many cases have you taken to trial where there was litigation simultaneously in Florida and also in other states or foreign countries?

There is a small but far from invisible minority here that consists of “recovering alcoholics.” Perhaps not surprisingly, many are married to other “recovering alcoholics.” Their presence helps account for the great popularity of a non-alcoholic tipple, not a “mocktail,” though there are those, but something known as an “Arnold Palmer.” This is three parts unsweetened tea and one part iced lemonade and is named for the great golfer, Arnold Palmer who is not, so far as I know, a recovering alcoholic.

News just now that the Vineta Hotel, which has been renovating for some years, is close to re-opening. Under its old name, Chesterfield, it was the dancing hotspot of Palm Beach and its Friday nights at the Leopard Lounge were legendary. It was bought in October 2022 for $42 million by the Reuben brothers, David and Simon, British billionaires with a net worth, according to the Sunday Times of London, of £24.9 billion, making them Britain’s fourth-wealthiest family. Born in Mumbai to Baghdadi-Jewish parents, the brothers are part-owners of Newcastle United Football Club and have donated £80 million to the creation of Reuben College, Oxford.

The Vineta is being managed by the Oetker Collection, a luxury hotel chain that includes Le Bristol in Paris, and the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes. Though the re-opening of the hotel is imminent, it is still painted white, rather than its signature pink, as was promised.

Are standards slipping? One of the exclusive clubs here has found it necessary to remind its members of the dress code:

Hats: Never appropriate indoors and should not be worn backwards anywhere on the property.

Denim: Permitted only in Casual Dress areas (Pool Deck and Anchor Room) and must not be torn.

Tattoos: Tattoos larger than a fist must be covered up while on the property.

News from the “You Couldn’t Make It Up” department: Palm Beach Airport has been voted as the most romantic. A survey of 3,000 single travelers, by the DatingAdvice website (“2.4 million visitors monthly”), asked what they thought was the most romantic airport. Palm Beach Airport came top as “the best place to find a potential love connection.” Orlando was second and O’Hare (Chicago) fifth.

It also emerged that 31 percent of travelers have flirted with someone at an airport, while 47 percent said that sitting next to someone on a flight offered the best chance to begin an unlikely romance. A third thought that “bonding” was also likely when a flight was delayed.

That’s an encouraging way of looking at a travel nightmare, but one thing that Palm Beach International Airport has that most other airports don’t is a sizable private terminal, with Gulfstreams galore. It might account for some of the romance.

This article was originally published in The Spectator’s April 2025 World edition.