Donald Trump Claims His Club Isn't Racist, Raises Membership to $200K
Donald Trump’s Palm Beach estate Mar-a-Lago is likely his favorite property. Once dubbed “the winter White House,” Mar-a-Lago is a massive mansion that Trump also uses as a private country club. And, as of January 1, it costs $200,000 to join.
$200,000 was the original cost of joining Mar-a-Lago, but prices were slashed in half in 2012 when, as Jezebel points out, “what seems like half of Palm Beach invested with Bernie Madoff.” And while Donald Trump Jr. is now (supposedly) in charge of Mar-a-Lago, the price increase occurred while the president still had control over the club.
This isn’t the first time the Trumps have attempted to profit by providing access to the Donald. Back in December, those willing to donate between $500,000 and $1 million were offered access to Trump the day of the inauguration, as well as the chance to go on a hunting or fishing trip with Eric and Don Jr. (they backed out after widespread criticism). There was also an auction for coffee with Ivanka Trump, which was later canceled.
During a debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump brought up Mar-a-Lago as proof that he is not a racist. “In Palm Beach, Florida, tough community, a brilliant community, a wealthy community, probably the wealthiest community there is in the world, I opened a club and really got great credit for it,” he said. “No discrimination against African-Americans, against Muslims, against anybody. And it’s a tremendously successful club. And I’m so glad I did it. And I have been given great credit for what I did. And I’m very, very proud of it. And that’s the way I feel. That is the true way I feel.”
In an article titled “Donald Trump keeps saying that his Mar-a-Lago Club is proof he’s not racist. About that,” Fusion’s Katie Katie McDonough pointed out that it is illegal in Florida for a private club to discriminate on the basis of race, and thus Trump bragged about following a basic rule. The article goes on to detail how Trump, who had been previously sued for housing discrimination (a superintendent testified that he had to mark "C for colored" on applications from Black people), stated in a separate lawsuit that the Palm Beach town council was discriminating against Mar-a-Lago because it was “open to Jews and African-Americans.” He even sent them a copy of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. The man is…bold.