At Mar-a-Lago, the star power of the presidency helps charities - and Trump - make more money
By Drew Harwell and David A. Fahrenthold May 13 at 6:25 PM
The women of the Palm Beach Habilitation Center had whispered among themselves that President Trump might pop in for their Hab-a-Hearts Luncheon at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s luxurious private club.
“It was Presidents’ Day at the president’s house and the president was in town. Then, by golly, he showed up,” said Tina Philips, president of the center, a charity that provides job training and other services to adults with disabilities. “He took the microphone and talked to the group and the ladies all went wild. He was in a very supportive crowd.”
It was a lucrative guest appearance for the group, which sold about 30 extra tickets, at $250 a pop, to additional attendees expressing excitement about a potential Trump sighting, Philips said. The group took in about $13,000 extra.
Trump’s club also made more money, since, according to groups that hold events there, its charges are based on the number of guests. The charity paid about $46,000 for food and to rent the Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom, up about $4,000 from last year, Philips said.
Mar-a-Lago will soon close for the season, as Palm Beach’s wealthy snowbirds return north. That will bring an end to one of the oddest experiments in modern American politics — in which a sitting president has become a moneymaking attraction for his own private business.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/at-mar-a-lago-the-star-power-of-the-presidency-helps-charities--and-trump--make-more-money/2017/05/13/e6bf6782-34ca-11e7-b412-62beef8121f7_story.html
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