Marble, ice sculptures and optics: Trump’s remote presidency draws scrutiny
At Mar-a-Lago, official governance, private business and personal relationships converge.
PALM BEACH, Florida — On President Donald Trump’s 14th consecutive day at Mar-a-Lago, his residence and private club here, his motorcade veered from the familiar route to his golf club and pulled into an industrial shopping center on the side of the highway.
The leader of the free world had some shopping to do. As helicopters flew overhead, Secret Service sealed off the parking lot of Arc Stone & Tile so that the president could review samples of marble and onyx for a proposed White House ballroom project.
Trump will pay for the materials “at his own expense,” according to a White House official who declined to say what he bought or how much he spent. The stop, focused on a long-standing signature initiative, reflected a pattern in which Trump has pursued private interests alongside the work of governing while operating remotely from Florida.
