The road to Mar-a-Lago was once packed with spectators. Not this year
Kinsey Crowley- Security has gotten tighter on Trump's motorcade route to Mar-a-Lago.
- The Palm Beach Post and The Palm Beach Daily News noticed his visits were quieter this year with fewer spectators on the route.
President Donald Trump made his final visit to Palm Beach for the season earlier this month, but it looked different this year than in the past.
Trump has visited Mar-a-Lago 27 times since returning to the White House for his second term. For Palm Beach residents, that has meant prolonged road closures and aviation restrictions.
His visits this year have been jam-packed with news, from announcing the capture of Venezuela's then-president Nicolás Maduro and strikes on Iran. Not to mention, he's had the airport and a major road in town named after him.
But on the ground, reporters at The Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News, both part of the USA TODAY Network, noticed that one part of his visits was quieter in recent months: While the road to Mar-a-Lago in his first term was lined with spectators when he would visit, this year was different.
See Trump in Palm Beach during first term
See Trump in Palm Beach during second term
Mar-a-Lago motorcade areas see more restrictions
Security has been tight around the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach since before he took office for his first term in the White House in 2017.
But since the beginning of this season, security measures have grown increasingly tight to deal with what federal officials have said are growing threats to Trump's life and family. The situation has been complicated by international tensions amid the Iran war.
Among the most visible and disruptive changes was the closure of South Ocean Boulevard near the club from March 3 to May 4, ordered by the U.S. Secret Service. The road runs along the water side of the island where Mar-a-Lago is located. With U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran beginning Feb. 28, the Secret Service said the road's closure was part of "enhanced security measures" implemented by the agency along with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
One popular place to watch Trump's motorcade roll by is the Southern Boulevard Bridge that crosses over Bingham Island, directly to the east of Mar-a-Lago. The parking lots near the bridge were once free but were converted to paid spots in 2024.
Some supporters are still gathering across from the entrance to the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach. One dust-up between a supporter and a protester in February led to the arrest of a 76-year-old man carrying a "Not My President" flag. It wasn't the only protest against Trump. Thousands of people protested in eight Palm Beach County locations on March 28 for the "No Kings" protests.
Trump had airport and road named after him this year
While the road to his Winter White House might not have been lined with as many spectators as in previous years, Southern Boulevard is now named after him.
The four-mile stretch of road between the Palm Beach International Airport and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida was renamed “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard" in January.
"When people see that beautiful sign is all lit up nice at night and it says Donald J. Trump Boulevard, they'll be filled with pride, just pride, not in me, pride in our country, right, in the state, because our nation will be stronger, richer and more successful, which is what it is right now," Trump said during a sign presentation in January.
The airport Trump usually flies into, Palm Beach International Airport, will also soon be renamed to the Donald J. Trump International Airport following legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved by the Palm Beach County commissioners. The new logo, recommended by the Trump Organization, is entirely gold.
Democrat flipped Palm Beach state House seat
Nationally, Trump's low approval rating and local elections where Democrats overperformed have left some wondering if the Trump fervor is waning. Also in the Palm Beach area, a Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for the state House district where Mar-a-Lago sits lost to a Democrat.
Trump voted by mail in the election to replace Rep. Mike Caruso, who became Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller for Palm Beach County. The president endorsed Republican Jon Maples, who ran against Democrat Emily Gregory for the seat.
"TO ALL GREAT PATRIOTS IN FLORIDA STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 87: GET OUT AND VOTE FOR JON MAPLES!" Trump said in a March 23 social media post.
But Gregory won in a surprising upset. She will be up for reelection in the fall.
"I believe that, after November, we will no longer be in a super minority," she said, according to The Palm Beach Post. "I am Democrat 34 (in the 120-member House), and I think we will pick up six or more seats in November. At the same time, I like our chances for the governor's mansion. I think we'll have a Democrat in the governor's mansion, and I we'll have 40 or 40-plus one, 40-plus something in the state House. I don't know the seats in the state Senate that well. I think by the time the next legislative session happens, we can be a very different place. And that would be hugely beneficial to all Floridians."
Contributing: Mike Diamond, Kristina Webb, Wayne Washington, Antonio Fins, John Bisognano, Tom Elia, Valentina Palm, Hannah Phillips, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her onX (Twitter),Threads,Bluesky andTikTok.