President Donald Trump’s neighbors near Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida resort aren’t exactly extending the welcome mat for his return. In fact, if anything, they don’t want him there. According to a report by The Washington Post, [1] Trump’s neighbors have even told him they don’t want him there.
His neighbors have even gone so far as to deliver a letter to the town of Palm Beach and to the U.S. Secret Service demanding that Trump relocate somewhere else. The letter writers also contend the president can’t legally move there because he signed a private agreement in the 1990s when he converted Mar-a-Lago from a residence to a private club, Mediaite [2] reports. This could be problematic for Trump, who fled New York and changed his official residence to Mar-a-Lago in order to vote in Florida.
One of the authors of the letter, Reginald Stambaugh, an attorney for Trump’s neighbors told him to avoid using the private club as his residence in order to avoid “an embarrassing situation.”
His neighbors have apparently been frustrated for years thanks to his frequent visits to Mar-a-Lago, which have led to increased traffic and disrupted the way of life for folks in the neighborhood.
“There’s absolutely no legal theory under which he can use that property as both a residence and a club,” homeowner Glenn Zeitz told the Post. “Basically he’s playing a dead hand. He’s not going to intimidate or bluff people because we’re going to be there.”
Mar-a-Lago’s neighbors are fine with Trump moving elsewhere close to the area, writing “Palm Beach has many lovely estates for sale, and we are confident President Trump will find one which meets his needs.”
Not being a legal expert, I don’t know if his neighbors can keep him from moving into the private club, but Trump has long been used to getting his own way so it remains to be seen how this will play out.