Where will President Trump be for Thanksgiving Day 2020?
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| US First Lady Melania Trump and others watch as US President Donald Trump pets Peas after pardoning the turkey in the Rose Garden of the White House [Bredan Smialowksi/AFP] |
The President Trump and first lady Melania Trump were scheduled to spend Thanksgiving Day 2021 at their Palm Beach, Florida resort, but have instead decided to stay in Washington, D.C, according to Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s spokesperson.
It is unclear how large or public the Thanksgiving celebration at the White House will be this year.
It is not unusual for presidents to celebrate Thanksgiving at the White House. Presidential traditions associated with the holiday include the annual turkey pardoning and preparing Thanksgiving meals for the homeless.
In 2019, Trump paid a surprise visit to American troops in Afghanistan, where he appeared at a Thanksgiving dinner. In the first two years of his term, Trump spent the holiday at the Trump Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Before the election, Trump had told people he was eager to visit the club after being away for so long and noted his rooms were in the middle of being renovated, so the cancellation came as a surprise to those around him.
Trump was considering canceling the trip, with one official describing it as a sign of Trump's "bunker mentality."
Behind the scenes, Trump has been eager to accomplish things that fell by the wayside during his first years in office and people close to him have said to expect that the next two months won't pass quietly.
Officials were told today that Trump had pulled the plug on the trip, the official said.
