Trump is reportedly crashing memorial services, living large 'like Napoleon at Elba'

(Image credit: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

published 10 June 2021

"By all accounts," Joshua Green reports at Bloomberg, former President Donald Trump's post–White House life in Southern Florida "doesn't resemble that of a typical ex-president so much as a foreign monarch cast into exile — like Napoleon at Elba, but with golf and a bigger buffet." Trump isn't just holding court at Mar-a-Lago, which he's transformed into the new center of gravity for the Republican Party, Green writes. He's also created "his own economy, providing livelihoods for his former aides," who in turn "trumpet his gospel of stolen elections and Democratic conspiracies."

"As Comic-Con does for actors past their prime, South Florida offers hardcore Trump fans a way to indulge their nostalgia and fawn over their favorite characters from the extended Trump Universe," Green reports. And Trump himself is constantly "bathed in adulation. When he enters the dining room, people stand and applaud. When he returns from golf, he's met with squeals and selfie requests. When he leaves Mar-a-Lago, he often encounters flag-waving throngs."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.