It’s 9pm on Friday night and Mar-a-Lago is heaving. Just four hours earlier, the famous patio had been empty.
Right now, the place is packed to the gills with many of the richest and most glamorous people America has to offer. Every table is full.
I look around and on the terrace in front of me is the most exclusive table of all – the one where President Donald J Trump is enthroned. Red ropes separate it from the rest of the dining area.
Trump is enjoying his dinner surrounded by his inner circle of close confidantes including Elon Musk, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and the US Secretary of Commerce, billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick and his wife Allison.
I had just arrived with a group of friends for a Palm Beach Fashion Week event in the ballroom downstairs.
On the table beside Trump’s plate is an iPad which he uses to control the Mar-a-Lago music: America’s POTUS and Commander-in-Chief is the DJ!
Everyone thinks it’s hilarious, including him. He plays a lot of classics and loves Andrea Bocelli in particular. One of his favorites is the glorious aria Con Te Partiro (Time to Say Goodbye) which he often plays as he leaves the restaurant.
There are plenty of pop classics, too, including YMCA by the Village People which became ‘his’ song during the presidential campaign. It gets everyone up on their feet doing his trademark Trump ‘dad dance’.
It’s 9pm on Friday night and Mar-a-Lago is heaving. Just four hours earlier, the famous patio had been empty. Right now, the place is packed to the gills with many of the richest and most glamorous people America has to offer. (Pictured: Lady Victoria Hervey at Mar-a-Lago).
I arrived at Mar-a-Lago with a group of friends for the Red, White and Vogue luncheon hosted by philanthropist Rosalyn Yellin during Palm Beach Fashion Week. (Pictured: Victoria at Mar-a-Lago with Rosalyn Yellin and friends).
I think it’s fair to say that this is the most exclusive club in the world right now. Everyone wants to be here. Membership is $1.5 million and there is a long waiting list.
I’ve been coming to Mar-a-Lago for three years now and have been here every month since election weekend in November. My connections with the Trumps go back a bit.
I first met First Lady Melania Trump years ago, before her marriage when she was modeling and known as Melania Knauss. Then we did a photo shoot for Town & Country magazine together shortly after she got engaged to Donald. My mother had been good friends with Trump’s first wife, Ivana. And I’d started my modelling career with the same agent as their daughter, Ivanka.
But I still get a thrill being inside Trumpworld. It is huge fun and, I have to admit, just a little addictive.
Mar-a-Lago is gorgeous, of course. The rooms are filled with gold leaf appliqué and marble, antique furniture and artwork. And then there are the amazing flower arrangements. On the table in one of the reception rooms is a scale model of the new Air Force One presidential plane which President Trump commissioned during his first term in office.
Make no mistake, this is a consequential place. People call Mar-a-Lago the ‘southern White House’ because the President is here most weekends. It’s the place where the deals are made and it’s no wonder everyone is making a pilgrimage to be here.
Silicon Valley CEOs, some of the most powerful men in the world like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch, have all been spotted at the president’s table in recent weeks.
And I can see why. There is still a huge sense of optimism around the President and, once you’ve cleared the super-tight Secret Service ‘ring of steel’ around him, there’s something surprisingly personal about it all.
The President always makes rounds at dinner, saying ‘hi’ to everyone there, introducing whoever happens to be by his side.
I’ve been coming to Mar-a-Lago for three years now and have been here every month since election weekend in November. My connections with the Trumps go back a bit.
On the table in one of the reception rooms is a scale model of the new Air Force One presidential plane which President Trump commissioned during his first term in office. (Pictured: Lady Victoria Hervey inside Mar-a-Lago).
I still get a thrill being inside Trumpworld. It is huge fun and, I have to admit, just a little addictive.
Just the other day it was former Arizona senate candidate and newscaster Kari Lake – ‘Say hi to Kari everyone!’ She’s now special advisor for the US Agency for Global Media, the federal organization which broadcasts news and information around the world.
Trump, 78, has incredible energy. He’s constantly in motion. If he’s not talking to someone in person, he’s on the phone – and usually on loudspeaker. For someone who has survived two assassination attempts, he’s also warm, friendly and remarkably accessible.
A couple of weeks ago I watched him play a round of golf with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Afterwards, I had lunch at the table next to him in the clubhouse.
Brendan Carr, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was part of our group. Casino mogul Steve Wynn and his wife Andrea, who I know from London, were sitting at another table with friends.
Just a few days earlier I’d been at Mar-a-Lago with former British prime minister Liz Truss. That’s when I’d bought a new Trump baseball cap, white with MAGA in gold lettering on the front.
Liz and I snapped photos together in the gift shop of the Trump International Golf Club next door to Mar-a-Lago, while she proudly wore a red ‘Trump Was Right About Everything’ cap. I have that one, too.
But it was my white MAGA hat that was a hit with the top man: he noticed a soon as he walked in from the course, joking: ‘Oh, that’s a new one, I haven’t seen that before.
I got to have a long chat with the President that day. It wouldn’t be fair to give details about our private conversation, but he loves the Royal Family and was asking lots of questions about them.
He is also a huge admirer of King Charles and Prince William – and he told me that he is looking forward to his second state visit to Britain later this year with great anticipation. Then he pointed at my baseball hat again and said: ‘Do you want me to sign that?’
I didn’t say no…
Over the past few weeks, I’ve met boxing-great Mike Tyson and actor-comedian Russell Brand, the rocker Ted Nugent and Trump’s former National Security Advisor General Mike Flynn.
I posed for pictures with Terrence Williams, a comedian famous in the MAGA circles. Also there was former Missouri senator John Loudon and his son Bo.
Bo is one of Barron Trump’s best friends and a young man who is clearly going places. Only 18 years old but super impressive, he helped rally Gen Z voters on social media to get behind the Trump presidential campaign.
Just a few days earlier I’d been at Mar-a-Lago with former British prime minister Liz Truss. That’s when I’d bought a new Trump baseball cap, white with MAGA in gold lettering on the front.
A couple of weeks ago I watched Trump play a round of golf with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Afterwards, I had lunch at the table next to him in the clubhouse.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve met boxing-great Mike Tyson and actor-omedian Russell Brand, the rocker Ted Nugent and Trump’s former National Security Advisor General Mike Flynn. (Pictured: Victoria at Mar-a-Lago with Mike Tyson, Gen Mike Flynn and Ted Nugent).
Also there was former Missouri senator John Loudon and his son Bo (pictured right), one of Barron Trump’s best friends and a young man who is clearly going places
If you’re lucky, you can catch a glimpse of The Beast, the bombproof, bulletproof ten-ton presidential limo which is loaded with James Bond-style gadgets, parked outside Mar-a-Lago’s entrance.
One of the most amusing rumors around here is that the door handles are rigged to send a 120-volt electric shock to ward off attackers. It’s also said that the car can emit its own smoke screen and lay down an oil slick to send any vehicle that is following it too closely spinning out of control.
But even that can’t beat the feeling of security at Mar-a-Lago which, which aside from an army of security personnel, has amazing robotic security dogs roaming the grounds.
Indeed, Mar-a-Lago is intoxicating – but most surprisingly of all is how intimate it feels. It’s where President Trump feels most at home.
And that this remarkable mansion is the beating heart of an administration that will go down in history.
