Trump: Officially a ‘Florida Man’

“Donald Trump and New York City used to be a perfect match,” said Stephen Collinson in CNN.com. “Both were brash, outspoken, greenback-worshipping tabloid icons obsessed with building taller, shinier skyscrapers.” No longer. The president has officially registered the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., as his primary domicile rather than Trump Tower in Manhattan. A source said Trump was moving “for tax purposes,” while a miffed Trump attributed his decision to having “been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and the state,” who’ve sought his tax returns and investigated his business. It might just be that Trump has recognized he’s become “a conservative skunk in a liberal town.”

Trump surely didn’t become the most famous “Florida Man” of all to get more sunshine, said Elliot Hannon in Slate.com. His “perma-tan is impervious to cloudy weather, though rain may be another matter.” No, the president relocated for the same reason that thousands of other New Yorkers go south: to dodge taxes. New York’s top state tax rate is nearly 9 percent, and New York City’s is nearly 4. Florida has no state or local income taxes, and no estate taxes either. There’s a political advantage, too, said Errol Louis in CNN​.com. Florida is “a true swing state.” Trump carried its 29 electoral votes in 2016 “by a slim 1.2 percent margin.” Barack Obama won it in 2008 and 2012. By designating Florida as his home, Trump may gain a slim, yet decisive, edge.

Trump was “never a New Yorker” anyway, said Peter Mehlman in TheAtlantic.com. The Queens boy born with a silver spoon in his mouth “probably never waited in line for a movie,” rode the subway, or “felt the thrill of beating everyone to a cab in the rain.” Wealth insulated him from the city’s glorious tumult. “He lived in the greatest city in the world and missed out on everything”—and now he will live the same sheltered existence in Florida. He’ll “hole up at Mar-a-Lago” and never rush to catch an early-bird special or sit around the pool, bragging about his grandkids. In the unlikely event he does venture out in public, he’ll run into hordes of ex–New Yorkers. They’ll be sure to tell him what they think of him. ■