With Trump in town, Mar-a-Lago members must leave their pepper spray, knives at home


President Trump is spending Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago, his gilded private club in Palm Beach, Florida, and the members who pay $15,000 a year in dues have to start following special rules that go into effect when Trump's on the premises.
A notice was sent out Monday reminding members that they'll have to go through Secret Service checkpoints, which will likely take 10 to 20 minutes, Politico reports. "Pocket knives, laser pointers, pepper spray, and any other items deemed to be a safety hazard are not permitted on property," the memo said. "Any items surrendered will not be returned." Members are also only allowed to bring two guests at a time to the club, and all of the rules are enough to keep some people away. "We plan not to be there when he's there," one longtime member told Politico. "When he's there, it's a mess."
Trump has dubbed Mar-a-Lago the "Winter White House," and Chief of Staff John Kelly is reportedly trying to figure out a way to keep Trump from hobnobbing with the members in the club's main dining room, but friend and Mar-a-Lago member Chris Ruddy said he doubts he'll be able to keep him away. "The president thrives on the interactions he has with guests, friends, and members, and I'd be surprised if that didn't continue in some way," he told Politico.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The best shows to see at Edinburgh Fringe 2025
The Week Recommends The world's biggest arts festival is back with an incredible line-up
-
Wonsan-Kalma: North Korea's new 'mammoth' beach resort
Under the Radar Pyongyang wants to boost tourism but there won't be many foreign visitors to Kim Jong Un's 'pet project'
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities