# What happens with El Cheeto and Mar-a-lago? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 26, 2021, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508 "2021-01-26T05:40:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/42 "2021-01-26T16:39:31Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Of course, the remainder of the plot won’t be worth much, so after the bankruptcy is over, he can mortgage Mar a Lago and buy back the stump from whatever Trump toady bought it for pennies at the bankruptcy auction. Bankruptcy in Florida only covers a half acre, Mar-a-lago is 3, so that means he would only get to keep 1/6 of it. Assuming that it is a Trump toady that buys it, and he is not outbid by his neighbors who don’t want him living there. > [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > It’s apparent to me that Mar a Lago is already his primary residence regardless of whether Palm Beach likes that idea. They _may_, but I don’t know that it would be a sure thing. He owns multiple residences that are legal for him to reside in. If he declares personal bankruptcy, I don’t see why the bankruptcy court wouldn’t make him choose one that he can legally reside in, or choose _for_ him. And it is not “whether or not Palm Beach likes the idea”, it seems the fact that he signed a legal agreement that he would _not_ make it his primary residence would factor in pretty heavily as to whether the legal system would consider it to be his primary residence. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/43 "2021-01-26T16:46:36Z")
> [@bump](#): > > So they’re likely to have to lawyer up and sue him, and see how that shakes out. And if they’ve already let him stay there more than 21 days in past years, it weakens their case, in that they’ve already let him get away with it before. I have a feeling this would depend on if the city actually received complaints about Trump living there in the past. If it was just “they should have known”, I’m not sure how much that would count. I think these types of violations are handled by the code compliance office, and they are typically very understaffed. They aren’t going to have the manpower to go seeking out violations when they have plenty to do with the normal complaints they deal with. But if there is a history of complaints and they were ignored, I would think that would help Trump’s case. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/44 "2021-01-26T16:46:52Z")
Like so many property/zoning/NIMBY issues, I doubt you can simply look to the law and predict the outcome. In my not inconsiderable experience, in each jurisdiction there tend to be certain individuals/organizations whose opinions, general practices, and desires will determine the outcome - pretty much no matter what the plain language law seems to say. If I were trying to do something questionable, I think I would prefer NOT to do so amidst a bunch of REALLY WEALTHY folk who are used to having things their way, and who are willing to fight/spend money to get their way. So it depends on how much his neighbors want him out, and whether the local government has any strong interests one way or another. It could be informative to see past zoning/variance actions/litigation taken in the community. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/45 "2021-01-26T16:48:35Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Bankruptcy in Florida only covers a half acre, Mar-a-lago is 3, so that means he would only get to keep 1/6 of it. The whole property is 20 acres. Force him to live in an RV parked on the golf course. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/46 "2021-01-26T16:57:50Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > The whole property is 20 acres. Force him to live in an RV parked on the golf course. - Where it becomes nothing more than a giant golf cart. Which gets driven on the green. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/47 "2021-01-26T17:04:13Z")
Huh, I thought it looked bigger than that. Looked it up, and it said 3 acres, but I suppose that’s the just size of the main building. Can you even keep 1/6th of a structure? ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/48 "2021-01-26T17:31:40Z")
Hey, it’s Florida. What are the chances that Mar-A-Lago just disappears down a sinkhoie? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/49 "2021-01-26T17:49:24Z")
There’s probably a better chance that it gets wiped out in the next major hurricane season. It’s been hit once before, but not hard enough. I remember that because Trump, being Trump, reportedly tried to defraud the insurance company with bogus claims. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/50 "2021-01-26T17:58:16Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > There’s probably a better chance that it gets wiped out in the next major hurricane season. It’s been hit once before, but not hard enough. - That’s because nothing blows harder than Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/51 "2021-01-26T18:04:35Z")
Except maybe [Kenneth Copeland.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kenneth-copeland-blow-coronavirus-pray-sermon-trump-televangelist-a9448561.html) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/52 "2021-01-26T18:48:16Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > No, the agreement is that he can’t stay more than 21 days in a year, and can’t stay more than 7 consecutive days at a time. Which, as has frequently been noted in the news, he has routinely violated. As in, yet another example of “Rules Do Not Apply To Me-ism”. I think the only real pressure will be financial. At least one letter to the town council was rather rabid on “don’t want to attract Q-Anon and the like”, and another (drafted by a lawyer) complained about the nuisance factor, including some woo about a microwave security barrier that was harming someone nearby. I would love it if the town were to find a way to sue him for costs for the nuisance factor but I suspect that’s an issue for any former POTUS, and to the best of my knowledge, that Just Isn’t Done. Of course, I suspect that most other former POTUSes behave courteously to their new hometowns. If there is special tax treatment of the property because it’s a club vs a house, that’s one way they can nail him - but I don’t know if business property taxes are higher or lower than residential (I would suspect higher). And of course if the place is no longer legally allowed to operate as a club, all of a sudden all the staff required to run such a place are no longer employees of a business - but rather of Donnie himself. Even if the net dollar amount to the IRS and State of Florida is the same, there’s a lot of paperwork involved there. An interesting thought if Trump ever does declare bankruptcy (and as delightful as that is to contemplate, I suspect that despite near-term cash flow issues, he probably still has a positive net worth), he’ll still have several hundred thousand a year in presidential pension income. Bankruptcy courts require you to put as much of your “extra” income toward reducing the debts as is feasible, but they will leave you enough to live on. Maybe not Trump-style, but a basic apartment somewhere. I could see them being more lenient with him, just because despite it all, he WAS President, but imagine having part of his pension garnished… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/53 "2021-01-26T18:53:07Z")
But it’s one thing for the sitting president to violate rules like that and another to do so as a private citizen, even if he’s formerly POTUS. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/54 "2021-01-26T19:00:34Z")
Slim to none. [It’s not the right part of the state.](https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/wK4ticniBKROkfP5F7I1r5B15Jo=/fit-in/1072x0/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/8e/c6/8ec643c9-1330-40b2-bcd5-0d36bbb1831a/florida-sinkholes.jpg) But fear not! There’s still great odds that rising sea levels will swamp the place. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/55 "2021-01-26T19:11:20Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > And of course if the place is no longer legally allowed to operate as a club, all of a sudden all the staff required to run such a place are no longer employees of a business - but rather of Donnie himself. Even if the net dollar amount to the IRS and State of Florida is the same, there’s a lot of paperwork involved there. Especially for all the illegal immigrants. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/56 "2021-01-26T19:20:00Z")
> [@bump](#): > > If nothing else, them not suing in years past when he probably spent more than 21 days there dilutes their case I’d think. So they could not get rid of him when he contravened laws in years past because he was president, and now they can’t get rid of him because they did not try in the past. Nice catch that one. Catch - 23? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/57 "2021-01-26T19:41:19Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Nice catch that one. Catch - 23? - Catch-45. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/58 "2021-01-26T19:51:34Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > all of a sudden all the staff required to run such a place are no longer employees of a business - but rather of Donnie himself. Even if the net dollar amount to the IRS and State of Florida is the same, there’s a lot of paperwork involved there. If they are employees, then they are considered a cost of doing business, and their wages are deducted before taxes. If they are his personal employees, then they are not. > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > he’ll still have several hundred thousand a year in presidential pension income. $219,200 per year > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Bankruptcy courts require you to put as much of your “extra” income toward reducing the debts as is feasible, but they will leave you enough to live on. Do bankruptcy courts clear foreign debt? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/59 "2021-01-26T19:58:18Z")
Surely the presidential pension is peanuts to a billionaire like him. I assume he’s donating the money annually? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/60 "2021-01-26T20:29:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Surely the presidential pension is peanuts to a billionaire like him. I assume he’s donating the money annually? Trump’s probably more concerned about his pension than he was a week ago. I’m guessing he just assumed that most the bribes he was receiving as President would continue afterwards and he’s shocked to discover how sharply his income has dropped this week. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/61 "2021-01-26T21:29:04Z")
What’s surprising to me is that the Secret Service would not refuse to protect him there if he’s living there against the zoning variance. They have to maintain offices and facilities which would also then be in questionable standing. I thought that if he tried to brazen it out, he’d be forced to pay for his own security, which he can not afford to do But I understand why they let him go for now. They needed him out of the White House, and he literally has nowhere else. Scotland closed its borders to him, and he has warrants waiting in NY. If he’s smart he’ll get out of the country as soon as possible. I’m betting that the Trump Tower suite belongs to Melania now. If not, it should be on the market soon. Or maybe he’s hoping to make it his house arrest palace. One way or the other, I think SDNY will be solving his housing crisis for him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508.md?page=4)