# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/142 "2021-02-11T01:46:51Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > A government can choose to own and operate a facility and land as a museum or park in perpetuity. And Merriweather-Post did bequeath it to the federal government – with the intent that it be used as a sort of Camp David South. The NPS found that it was a money pit in upkeep (and that was before it being designated as historic), and it was (at the time) considered too expensive/impractical to properly secure. So Congress reverted it to the estate. The sensible solution to Mar-a-Lago all along would have been to _repurpose_ the main home site if possible to do so into something viable, and **sell** the rest of the land for redevelopment. Even a real succesful mogul who’d want to save the historic structure and set up a museum/arts college campus/conference center/ashram/whatever would reasonably want to **sell** the excess acreage, and any private buyers of that land would want to **do** something with it. And a whole bunch of people seemed to not want that to happen. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/143 "2021-02-11T02:18:33Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > The sensible solution to Mar-a-Lago all along would have been to _repurpose_ the main home site if possible to do so into something viable, and **sell** the rest of the land for redevelopment. Even a real succesful mogul who’d want to save the historic structure and set up a museum/arts college campus/conference center/ashram/whatever would reasonably want to **sell** the excess acreage, and any private buyers of that land would want to **do** something with it. And a whole bunch of people seemed to not want that to happen. Yes. Exactly. A bunch of politically powerful residents and a city council all wanted to do something economically impractical. As long as somebody else was paying the freight. I’m no defender of Trump, but this end state was 100% predictable 30 years ago. An agreement to do something majorly economically impossible will (in due course) turn into an agreement to accept the closest practical thing that develops by evolution. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/144 "2021-02-11T02:32:32Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Cleanse it first with fire, then with water. Leave it beneath the surface of the ever-rising sea for all eternity. Look upon his works (nothing) and despair of them. Like Jefferson Davis’s house in Biloxi, it should be a tourist attraction. It’s unfortunate that the Davis house is controlled by neo-confederates, but it shouldn’t be torn down. Instead it should, like Mar-a-Logo, be operated by the National Park Service. I can see moving a statue specifically built to reinforce a lost cause/segregation message. But Marjorie Merriweather Post didn’t have it built to advance a right-wing cause. I don’t even think she was right-wing. Her 3rd husband was an FDR-appointed ambassador to the USSR. This is a highly historic and beautiful residence that should be persevered. I want to, at a reasonable price, walk around the place. Now, whether it should be persevered as in the 1920’s or as when a wannabe dictator lived there - I’m open to ideas. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/145 "2021-02-11T02:45:26Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I can see moving a statue specifically built to reinforce a lost cause/segregation message. But Marjorie Merriweather Post didn’t have it built to advance a right-wing cause. I don’t even think she was right-wing. Her 3rd husband was an FDR-appointed ambassador to the USSR. > > This is a highly historic and beautiful residence that should be persevered. I want to, at a reasonable price, walk around the place. Oh, for sure. But the thing is, “at a reasonable price” the NPS _could not_ keep it as it is. The Posts knew _they_ could not keep it up in the long run, that’s why they wanted to offload it on the NPS – _and the NPS said no thank you_, because they are not in the business of setting fire to money to preserve every single “historic” thing there is. And then the value kept dropping because nobody would buy it if they could not redevelop, until it dropped to the point you-know-who felt it was the right time to swoop in and put some conditions of his own. The house surely can be preserved, but Palm Beach has to accept it will draw tourists and meeting groups, and that 2/3 of the estate be redeveloped, unless _they_ want to _buy it_, or grant a conservation easement that zeroes the new owner’s taxes. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/146 "2021-02-11T03:35:58Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > …This is a highly historic and beautiful residence that should be **persevered**. I want to, at a reasonable price, walk around the place. > > Now, whether it should be **persevered** as in the 1920’s or as when a wannabe dictator lived there - I’m open to ideas. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/147 "2021-02-11T05:08:18Z")
Certain opinionators, even in this very thread, suggest the house should be torn down. Yet, the house perseveres! ---
**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:** [February 11, 2021, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/148 "2021-02-11T05:41:01Z")
The house always wins. Unless it’s a Trump-branded casino, of course. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/149 "2021-02-11T13:36:05Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. One nice thing about spell-check is that once it mis-corrects something the first time, it perseveres in miscorrecting it over and over. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/150 "2021-02-11T14:54:32Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > One nice thing about spell-check is that once it mis-corrects something the first time, it perseveres… Ah! That explains my mom having trouble following my recipe for gooseberry perseveres. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/151 "2021-02-11T15:02:15Z")
If she perseveres, she can probably read through the word errors. Nowadays there are very few spellcheckers that you can’t configure or train out of a mis-correction. You (any you) just need to know how and have the willingness to expend the effort. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/152 "2021-02-11T15:15:52Z")
That explains what’s wrong with my goosebump perseveres. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/153 "2021-02-11T15:16:48Z")
> Nowadays there are very few spellcheckers that you can’t configure or train out of a mis-correction. Hmm, would one document with the “correct” word repeated a hundred times do it? Because I, too, often have that penis. Damn autocorrect! I meant to type penis. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/154 "2021-02-11T15:41:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > What I meant was that once a facility, any facility, becomes a historic landmark or on the register of national historic places, or the City / County / State / whoever declares that it must be maintained as-is in perpetuity to honor some historic something-or-other, it becomes an economic albatross. > … Burn it down and build a Super Wal-Mart on the property. Wait! \<_light bulb over head_\> DON’T burn it down-- just install a Wal-Mart inside the existing structure. It will still blend into the landscape. That will solve everyone’s problem. Think of the tax revenue. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/155 "2021-02-11T15:54:32Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > just install a Wal-Mart inside the existing structure. If they do this quickly enough, everyone could get their vaccines there. > **[Walmarts in 34 Florida counties to offer COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s the list of...](https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2021/02/09/walmarts-in-34-florida-counties-to-begin-covid-19-vaccinations-this-week/)** > > Gov. Ron DeSantis says that 119 Walmarts and select Sam's Club locations in 34 Florida counties will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines on Friday. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/156 "2021-02-11T15:58:25Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Be careful what you wish for. If by “the slightest” chance Trump gets booted from Mar-a-Lago, Marion said, he would likely move into one of the other nearby homes he owns. The Secret Service bubble that now resides behind Mar-a-Lago’s gates would be on their street, he said. > > “There would be barriers in front of that property. There would be guards and Secret Service personnel. … There would be dogs sniffing vehicles,” Marion said. “It would be a horrible imposition for them (the neighbors) if they got what they wanted.” Well, not if the Senate convicts and takes all that away. ---
**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:** [February 11, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/157 "2021-02-11T17:52:05Z")
Or an Amazon Fulfillment center. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/158 "2021-02-11T18:03:48Z")
Heck, why not both? It’s big enough. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/159 "2021-02-11T19:24:46Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > AIUI, buildings with landmark status generally only need to preserve the exterior so the interior is pretty much fair game, as long as any changes do not affect the exterior. And there you may have an issue with any potential buyer. They’d have to do a thorough inspection to determine how much de-Trumpifying they’d need to do to the interior… ---
**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:** [February 11, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/160 "2021-02-11T19:49:11Z")
It’s not so bad – at least before he orangified himself. > **[Inside Donald Trump's Palm Beach house Mar-a-Lago](https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/article/mar-a-lago-inside-donald-trumps-winter-white-house)** > > Trump's Palm Beach estate was intended as a 'winter White House', long before his presidency was on the cards - step inside Mar-a-Lago. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508/161 "2021-02-12T01:08:44Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Certain opinionators, even in this very thread, suggest the house should be torn down. Yet, the house perseveres! I doubt any of my posts got this much attention before. I’ll have to find some other Mrs. Malaprops. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-el-cheeto-and-mar-a-lago/931508.md?page=9)