Heh.
Palm Beach Mayor Danielle Moore is exploring the possibility of closing down Mar-a-Lago as residents express concerns that they "don't feel safe."
An indefinite road closure near former President Donald Trump's Florida property has prompted Moore to direct the Town Council to research whether it could close the beach club until the road reopens.
The Secret Service closed South Ocean Boulevard, the road running along Mar-a-Lago, almost a month ago, in the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump. Security has also been increased around Trump's other properties, including the Trump Tower in Manhattan and his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
So far, there are no plans to reopen the road. Local police have said that "at a minimum" the shutdown would last through Election Day on November 5.
Amid the road closure and new checkpoints, Mar-a-Lago has remained open for business. Town officials are now wondering how effective increased security is if hundreds of people continue to be invited to the property for various events.
"You can't have it both ways, boys and girls," Moore said during a Tuesday Palm Beach Council meeting, the Palm Beach Daily News reported. "Either the club's open or not."
"In my mind, if the road is closed, the Mar-a-Lago Club is closed," the mayor said.
Newsweek has contacted Moore via email and Mar-a-Lago via phone for comment.
When the boulevard was first shut down, the town of Palm Beach told residents that "neither Town Officials nor the Town Council" helped make the decision, but that it was working with the Secret Service to "minimize the impacts of this road closure."
"The Town plans to pursue legal options to ensure that the road remains open in the absence of the protected person(s) in residence," a July 20 alert said.
Moore told the Palm Beach Daily News last month that while she understood the increased precautions, she had concerns about the decision to close South Ocean Boulevard "when there's nothing out there but water."
"I have more concerns coming from the west side of Mar-a-Lago," she added.
During Tuesday's meeting, Council Member Julie Araskog said she had received calls from residents complaining that the new checkpoints made it difficult for caregivers and other staff to reach them and expressing worries that it could affect the speed at which first responders are able to attend to emergency situations, the Palm Beach Daily News reported. She also said some had also called about safety concerns given the threats Trump has received.
"Our residents don't feel safe right now," Araskog said.
Council Member Ted Cooney also took issue with how the closure had affected traffic, saying he was "terrified as to what life looks like in town with this road closure." Moore said a resident had informed her that they had to travel almost an hour to make a delivery that would have taken 10 minutes if the boulevard were open.
Town Manager Kirk Blouin noted that it's not even high season in Palm Beach yet. The town typically becomes busy after Thanksgiving, although that has moved earlier and earlier since the pandemic.
Blouin said, "We're at the slowest point that we're going to be and we're already seeing the impacts."