Trump is being forced to wave goodbye to Mar-A-Lago luxury, key permits now pulled

Former president Donald Trump did not exactly end his time in the White House on the highest of notes.

Legal battles, severe political division, and a second impeachment due to incitement of violence now plagues the former commander-in-chief.

Trump has attempted to settle into life after office in Florida at his high-end Mar-A-Lago community, but area citizens are pushing back with demands for him to give up living in their community.

According to a TMZ report, Trump’s personal helipad is in the process of being demolished and removed from his Florida residence, according to building permits which show the removal will be performed by Pyramid Builders out of Palm Beach and will cost the former president $15,000.

The helipad was constructed 2017, but Palm Beach doesn’t normally allow residents to use helicopters in the city or have helipads at their home. However, they made an exception to accommodate the president while he was in office the last four years.

Trump made an argument that the helipad and being allowed to fly into his residence would be better for the town due to the fact that traffic patterns wouldn’t have to be blocked on Southern Boulevard each time his presidential transport comes in from the commercial airport, according to The Hill.

The helipad was approved “for business relating solely to the office of the president,” per the TMZ report. However, now that he is no longer President, Marine One will no longer need to land at Trump’s residence any longer. Therefore, the helipad must be removed.

Unsurprisingly, even though Trump owned a helipad, Trump reportedly would still often drive to the resort so that he could wave at supporters from his car, says The Independent. Town manager Kirk Blouin told the Palm Beach Daily News that they “never made a request” to keep the helipad in place.

Trump has more issues than the helipad. Palm Beach residents reportedly have been very public with their opposition to Trump living in Mar-A-Lago.

The morning that Joe Biden was inaugurated, Trump skipped the ceremony and made his way back to Florida on his last ride on Air Force One. CNN reported the town of Palm Beach had a look through a legal lens into whether the former president could in fact live in Mar-A-Lago in accordance to zoning ordinances.

In the end, there was nothing that would prevent him from living there from a legal perspective, as of now. This stemming from the fact that in 1993 Trump was forced to agree to new guidelines that stated club members could not stay for more than a week at a time, and that they could not visit more than three times a year. If Trump didn’t agree to this, among other things, then the members-only designation would have been revoked from the club.

Some town residents believe that Trump living at the club would in fact break the agreement. John “Skip” Randolph is the town attorney that announced the regulations in place do not prohibit Trump from residing at the club, so long as he is a “bona fide employee of the property,” according to the report. However, the town is expected to review the matter further to make a determination as to whether or not the former president can reside there.

Trump is clearly faced with resistance from his Florida neighbors for wanting to make the club his permanent residence. Some townspeople simply do not want to be associated with the former president or his political baggage. Some residents are reportedly choosing to leave.

If Trump loses his legal battle to reside at Mar-A-Lago, he would be facing a significant setback. Particularly after he recently announced the opening of “Office of the Former President” in Palm Beach.

There is already discussion about the legacy Trump left in Washington. During a Sean Hannity interview, Eric Trump said that “there’s never been a more beloved political figure in our country’s history” than his father. “They wanna tar and feather the man,” Eric complained. “They know he did a great job for this nation…There are 75 million Americans who would follow him to the end of Earth.”

Eric Trump is correct in saying that over 74 million people voted for his father. However, Joe Biden won the popular vote as well with a vote tally of more 81 million votes, shattering the record set by his former boss, Barack Obama.

However, Eric’s argument comes with skepticism by many as Trump’s approval ratings do not suggest he was the most “beloved political figure” in U.S. history.

Donald Trump exited his presidency with the lowest approval ratings of his entire 4-year term, according to Gallup. Trump’s overall average approval rating was 41%, which was the lowest of any president in history by at least 4 points.

Former president Trump has yet to make any public appearances post-presidency. Had his Twitter account not been banned, there’s a 100% chance we would have heard plenty from him post-presidency.