Donald Trump declares himself a champion of equality because he didn't segregate his Florida club


In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday, Donald Trump made the case for himself as an unparalleled champion of racial equality, citing as evidence a Florida club he owns.
His remarks came in response to a question from host George Stephanopoulos about Trump's recent waffling over denouncing the Ku Klux Klan. "There's nobody that's done so much for equality as I have," Trump said, before bringing up his club. "You take a look at Palm Beach, Florida. I built the Mar-a-Lago Club, totally open to everybody. A club that, frankly, set a new standard in clubs and a new standard in Palm Beach and I've gotten great credit for it."
Trump's launch of the Mar-a-Lago was marked by a discussion of racial discrimination when it opened in 1990, but the story is not as simple as he suggests. The real estate baron claimed that municipal restrictions on his development plans stemmed from a racist desire to keep black and Jewish people out of Palm Beach, a story local leaders adamantly denied, citing instead noise and traffic concerns about the massive property.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As the Washington Post reported in a profile of the club, Trump mailed copies of two movies that deal with anti-racist themes to town council members to accuse them of racism, a fight he won in the court of public opinion — and eventually local politics, as development was permitted to move forward.
Trump has also argued that his history with the Mar-a-Lago is proof he will make a great commander-in-chief.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Is Israel annexing Gaza?
Today's Big Question Israeli army prepares a major ground offensive and is said to have plans to 'fully occupy the territory'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Twitter: Breaking the Bird – a 'riveting' documentary
The Week Recommends BBC2's 'fascinating' film charts the social media platform's fall from grace
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Detentions and hostile treatment: is it safe to visit the US?
The Explainer Spate of interrogations and deportations at US border sparking decline in overseas visitors
By The Week UK Published
-
WHCA rejects White House press seating grab
Speed Read The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sends more migrants to El Salvador jail
Speed Read Another 17 Venezuelan alleged gang members have been deported to a notorious prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd term
Speed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions
Speed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports
Speed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunder
Speed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ouster
Speed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published