Donald Trump has a major Mar-a-Lago problem

| 9:01 pm EST January 4, 2021
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Donald Trump’s prospects are quite bleak once he leaves office. Creditor squeezes and asset forfeitures could cost him most of his properties. Criminal charges could land him under house arrest while awaiting trial. Trump seems to be trying to prepare for this ugly reality by putting a lot of his chips down on Mar-a-Lago.

Trump changed his official residence to Mar-a-Lago a year ago. Since he lost the election he’s reportedly begun renovations there. He seems intent on establishing some kind of homestead there, both so it doesn’t end up being seized from him, and so he can try to convince the judge in his inevitable New York criminal trial to give him house arrest in Florida. But now there’s a problem with all of this.

Because Trump took tax breaks on Mar-a-Lago from the town of Palm Beach, it’s technically classified as a business, and not a residence. Trump isn’t legally allowed to live there full-time. In fact he arguably committed voter fraud when he listed Mar-a-Lago as his home address, because it’s not legally a residence.

In any case, the Washington Post is reporting that Mar-a-Lago’s neighbors are up in arms about the prospect of Donald Trump using it as a full time residence, and because he’s not allowed to do that, they’re pushing the issue with the city. Now that he’s no longer going to be president, the city is probably less likely to cower to him. If Trump gets banned from residing at Mar-a-Lago, it could tank his entire strategy for weathering the financial crisis and criminal charges that are about to hit him.