WASHINGTON (AP) — For a man who loves the spotlight, Donald Trump has conspicuously disappeared from view since his victory in last week’s presidential election.
There have been no rallies, no press conferences, no speeches. Instead, Trump has spent most of his first week as president-elect behind closed doors at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, working the phones, reconnecting with foreign leaders and building his new administration.
Trump is hardly in isolation. He is surrounded by advisors, friends and paying members of his club, who give him advice as he selects people for top government jobs. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, whose companies have billions of dollars in federal contracts, has been a constant presence. Some see Musk as the second most influential figure in Trump’s immediate circle, behind his campaign chief-turned-chief-of-staff Susie Wiles.
“Very productive work day from the transition team,” Musk posted on X, his social media company, on Monday evening.
Trump is expected to make another public appearance on Wednesday, when he heads to the White House to meet with President Joe Biden and visits the Capitol to confer with House Speaker Mike Johnson. Overall, Trump is laying the groundwork for his second presidency at a much faster pace than his first.
That does not mean that the private trial lacks the cutthroat atmosphere that Trump has fostered within his environment for so long. A former White House official still close to Trump compared the situation at Mar-a-Lago to the drama series Game of Thrones, and another former Trump official also described the chaotic scramble for jobs. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal dynamics.
Eight years ago, when Trump won a shocking victory over Hillary Clinton, he was not out of sight for long. He visited President Barack Obama at the White House two days after the election and then met with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill.
“We are going to take very strong action on immigration,” he said at the time. “We will be very forceful in health care. And we look at jobs. Jobs in the big leagues.”
In New York, Trump Tower was transformed into the setting for a new political reality show. The media camped out in the lobby of Trump’s eponymous skyscraper to see who came and went. Sometimes Trump would ride the elevator down to give an update or show off to a guest.
In one notable moment in December, the rapper, then known as Kanye West, appeared with Trump, who said the two had “been friends for a long time.” When asked what they had discussed, Trump replied: “Life. We discussed life.” Trump was later criticized in 2022 for having dinner with Ye and a white nationalist who denied the Holocaust.
Eight years ago, Trump also held transition meetings in New Jersey at his golf course in Bedminster, where the media gathered for many days for a parade of candidates in front of the assembled cameras.
Some, like future Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, were eventually offered jobs. Others, like Mitt Romney, did not. After the meeting with Romney, the two walked outside together and shook hands next to an American flag. Trump quickly gave a thumbs up and said it “went great.”
The current arrangement is very different. There is no public access to Mar-a-Lago, which appears to be under even tighter security than in the immediate aftermath of two assassination attempts against Trump.
The rotunda in front of the property’s entrance is completely barricaded, and Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Secret Service vehicles were recently seen on guard, along with unmarked police cars, black vans and a golf cart.
Instead, Trump has announced his choices in statements and posts on his Truth Social site, while his comings and goings have been recorded on social media by club members and their guests, who, as always, have virtually unfettered access.
In one video he is seen dancing to “YMCA” on the club’s crowded terrace. In another, he and his wife, Melania, are cheered as they arrive for dinner. They were also spotted sitting at a table with Musk.
Trump is known to have left Mar-a-Lago only once since the election to visit another property of his. On Sunday, he returned to his nearby golf course — the same course where an eagle-eyed Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a gun through the property’s fence and thwarted a possible shooting — to play with his teenage granddaughter Kai.
“Sundays with grandpa,” she posted on Instagram. Other photos from that day show Trump in a golf cart, wearing a white golf shirt, and later sitting in a burgundy leather chair in the club’s restaurant next to Kai as someone leans in for a drink. conversation.
Musk was also spotted on the track, where he was introduced to the members. Kai posted a photo of herself posing with Musk and his son, and said Trump was “reaching uncle status.”
Indeed, Musk sometimes seems to be a member of the family. On election night, he was seen giving his son a piggyback ride through a ballroom at Mar-a-Lago and joining a family photo of the president-elect with his children and grandchildren.
Since then, he has tried to make his mark on every issue facing the new administration, according to people familiar with his efforts who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the dynamics. His efforts to exert influence extend to issues beyond his expertise, such as border security.
Trump has said he plans to give Musk a formal role overseeing a group that would recommend ways to make the federal government more efficient. Musk suggested he could find more than $2 trillion in savings – almost a third of total annual spending.
Trump also added Musk to a post-election call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who hopes the United States will continue the flow of military aid to fend off Russia’s invasion. Trump and Musk have both expressed skepticism about support for Ukraine, and Trump often speaks admiringly of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has vowed to end the war before Inauguration Day.
Positions in the incoming Trump administration are now being offered much faster than the first time. In 2016, Trump announced his senior leadership team, including the chief of staff, the Sunday after the election. But he waited ten days for his first cabinet appointment
This time, Trump quickly appointed Wiles as his chief of staff. He has also chosen Stephen Miller, an anti-immigration firebrand, as a policy adviser and Tom Homan as his “border czar.” Trump has appointed New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as his ambassador to the United Nations and former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
The competition for jobs was fierce this year. Although Trump’s election in 2016 was a surprise, this time around the allies have spent four years compiling personnel lists and policy proposals. The candidates are represented by PR agencies and lobbyists. One potential cabinet pick hired advisers to bolster his image.
While Trump had said he already had people in mind for various roles, Howard Lutnick, the co-chair of Trump’s transition team responsible for personnel, previously told The Associated Press that he had not discussed any recommendations with Trump before his victory because The President-elect is notoriously superstitious.
“What I do is look for the best candidates for the role. So each role will have, let’s say, eight great candidates – fully vetted, fully eligible for Senate confirmation, okay? he said. ‘Then he starts doing job interviews and starts thinking. That’s up to him, right? He is the chooser.”
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Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Stephany Matat in Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
