Activists: Charities must move galas from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
Since President Donald Trump opened the gold-infused ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago resort almost 12 years ago, it has been a popular rental for the American Red Cross, hospitals, medical researchers and other charities for fundraising galas where the wealthiest donors are wined and dined, often netting $1 million or more. But Trump’s election puts charities in an awkward position over choosing the resort — recently dubbed the president’s Winter White House — for events they may have planned more than a year in advance. With Trump placing a moratorium on refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries and his promises to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, activists are pressuring charities such as the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Cleveland Clinic to move or cancel their galas this month. As the International Red Cross held a gala fundraiser Saturday at Mar-a-Lago, about three thousand demonstrators marched nearby to protest Trump’s now-blocked executive order temporarily limiting immigration. The event ended peacefully, and there were no arrests. So far, no known Mar-a-Lago charity events have been moved or canceled. More than 2,000 people, including faculty and students from Harvard Medical School, have signed an online petition demanding that Boston-based Dana-Farber move or cancel its Feb. 18 “Discovery Celebration,” featuring a performance by Grammy Award winner David Foster. The cheapest ticket is $1,250. Petition organizer George Karandinos, a 30-year-old Harvard medical student from Houston, said he understands that canceling or moving the Dana-Farber event would be difficult, “but they can make a public moral stand that is in line with their stated values” of diversity and supporting scientific exchanges across borders. Plus, he said, a cancellation might attract additional donors. A similar open letter, signed by more than 1,100 including doctors and medical students, demands that Cleveland Clinic move its Feb. 25 “Reflections of Versailles: A Night in the Hall of Mirrors” gala. Its cheapest ticket also is $1,250. Both Dana-Farber and the Cleveland Clinic said they won’t move or cancel their events, but added that it doesn’t mean they support the president’s policies. Applications filed with the town of Palm Beach show Dana-Farber expects to raise $1.25 million after paying expenses of $250,000. The Red Cross says it will make $950,000 after spending $400,000. A portion of those expenses would go to Mar-a-Lago. The town did not immediately release Cleveland Clinic’s application. Dana-Farber President Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher issued a statement saying she shares the protesters’ concerns about the immigration moratorium and what it will mean for doctors, scientists, students and patients from the affected countries, but that the protesters are unrealistic. “The forthcoming fundraiser in Palm Beach is planned many months in advance, and raises critical funds to support this lifesaving work. Contracts have been signed, and a large number of people have committed to attend. Canceling the event outright would only deny much-needed resources for research and care,” she said. The Cleveland Clinic issued a similar statement. “The sole purpose of our event in Florida is to raise funds for important research to advance cardiovascular medicine that improves patient care,” spokeswoman Eileen Sheil said. “In no way is this connected to anything else but helping patients. The event has been held there for years, well before the election.” Mar-a-Lago director Bernd Lembcke didn’t return a call seeking comment. The Trump Organization didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment. Photos of the ballroom complex, including the Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom, show large open spaces lighted by chandeliers and surrounded by massive archways and columns. Bathroom fixtures are gold-plated. The walls, ceiling and columns have intricate decorations gilded with gold leaf. Many organizations have been using the venue for years to host their wealthiest donors. Trump opened the 20,000 square-foot ballroom complex in late 2005 — the inaugural event was the reception for his wedding to Melania Trump. He told reporters the complex cost $35 million, but Palm Beach building records indicate the cost was lower, likely no more than $15 million. Mary Simboski, who teaches in Boston University’s fundraising management program, said that while she could not speak to any specific event, major galas like the ones the Cleveland Clinic, Red Cross and Dana-Farber are throwing take a year to plan and are a major part of an organization’s fundraising operation. Picking a site like Mar-a-Lago often comes down to location, size, cost and availability, she said, and has nothing to do with politics. Projecting that the groups could perhaps garner more financial support by canceling the event is wishful thinking, she said. “Hope is not a strategy,” Simboski said. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump’s week: Brief calm amid more chaos
Moments of order and calm came to Week Two at the Trump White House. You just had to look fast to catch them amid the name-calling, indelicate tweets and hectoring of world leaders. President Donald Trump pressed ahead with his promised conservative agenda, including his selection of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, steps to repeal financial sector rules and other moves to advance his priorities through executive orders and on Capitol Hill. He made a solemn visit to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed in a raid last weekend in Yemen. “So you have that part of the presidency,” said Princeton historian Julian Zelizer. “And then you have the chaos.” Trump mocked the “fake tears” of the Senate’s Democratic leader. He referred to a federal judge who temporarily blocked his travel ban as a “so-called judge.” Word surfaced that Trump had cut short a testy phone call with the leader of stalwart U.S. ally Australia. It also came out that Trump had dangled the idea of sending U.S. troops to Mexico to stop “bad hombres.” And, for good measure, Trump chose the National Prayer Breakfast as the setting to renew his ribbing of Arnold Schwarzenegger for the “Celebrity Apprentice” ratings slide after the actor replaced Trump on the show. There was conflicting commentary about whether Trump’s lack of restraint was an intentional tactic by the avowed disrupter of the status quo or fresh evidence that top aides have been unable to rein him in. Either way, the week had a roller-coaster rhythm to it. A look at how the week played out: DISORDERLY ORDER The week opened with worldwide confusion over the rollout of Trump’s order to suspend the country’s refugee program and block visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries, including questions about exactly who was covered by the edict and what to do with those already in transit. Thousands gathered at airports and other settings around the world to protest. American diplomats spoke out in dissent. Even Republicans acknowledged the disarray, with Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina lamenting “the confusion, anxiety and uncertainty of the last few days” in a joint statement. “It may be that this is the way they want to roll right now,” Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee said of the White House. Homeland Security and State Department officials took charge of the effort to clear up the confusion and manage the travel restrictions in a more orderly fashion. Trump questioned the sincerity of “Fake Tears Chuck Schumer” after the Senate’s Democratic leader choked up in discussing the immigration order. “I’m going to ask him who was his acting coach,” he said. In all that clamor, one could almost miss that on Monday, Trump also summarily fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration, after she said she wouldn’t enforce the president’s order on refugees and immigrants. At week’s end, there was more tension over the immigration order as Trump pushed back hard against a federal judge’s move to temporarily block it, with the president tweeting that it was “ridiculous” and that “many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country.” ___ BIG REVEAL Trump managed to change the subject — at least temporarily — by moving up the announcement of his Supreme Court nominee from Thursday to Tuesday. The former reality TV star teased his prime-time reveal like a reality TV show and used Twitter to promise viewers a “VERY IMPORTANT DECISION.” He managed to maintain an element of suspense up until he introduced Gorsuch in the East Room before an audience of Republican senators, family and White House staff in what was an otherwise staid and conventional rollout. But rather than keep the spotlight trained on Gorsuch the next day, the White House brought out national security adviser Michael Flynn to deliver a cryptic message putting Iran “on notice” for testing ballistic missiles and supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen. Trump himself tweeted, “Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them!” There was plenty of head-scratching over what exactly Iran was on notice about and whether Trump would try to find a way out of the multinational nuclear deal with Iran. Two days later Trump cleared up some of the mystery by imposing sanctions on 25 people and companies, putting more pressure on Tehran but leaving the deal in place for now. ___ BETWEEN FRIENDS Who could have predicted that part of the week would be spent making amends with Australia, of all places? A cleanup campaign was necessary Thursday after it emerged that Trump, in a phone call Jan. 28, had gotten into a tense conversation with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in which the president ranted about an Obama-era deal to accept some of about 1,600 asylum-seekers Australia has refused to resettle. Trump tweeted that it was a “dumb deal” and told those at the prayer breakfast not to worry about his “tough phone calls.” “We have to be tough,” he said. “We’re taken advantage of by every nation in the world, virtually.” White House officials and senators from both parties scurried to reach out to Joe Hockey, Australia’s ambassador to the United States, to reassure him about the strength of the U.S.-Australia alliance. New questions also arose about the U.S.-Mexico relationship as it was revealed that Trump had warned Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to do something about the “bad hombres.” The White House said the comments were “lighthearted,” but some administration officials described the call as contentious. ___ SUPER BOWL TERRITORY At week’s end, Trump declared that “amazing things are going to happen” for Americans. And with that, he headed to Florida for a working Super Bowl weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The president who can’t get enough of good ratings seemed pleased that he’d seen on TV that
