Not even a war could keep President Donald Trump away from glitzy parties at Mar-a-Lago.
The commander in chief, 79, made an unscheduled appearance at a Republican fundraising event in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday night as his Iran war raged on.
A clip posted by right-wing news outlet Florida’s Voice showed the crowd going wild as Trump walked into the massive gilded hall, clapping his hands and pointing at faces in the fawning crowd. Lee Greenwood’s God Bless The USA, a beloved MAGA anthem, played in the background.
The president took his time mingling with the crowd as he made his way up to the podium. Once the cheers of “USA” died down, Trump made an admission.
“So, you know, I didn’t know I was going to be here today,” he said as the audience roared. “I’m supposed to be prosecuting the war, but the war’s going very well.”
“They have no navy, they have no air force, they have no anti-anything. All they can do is make a little ruckus,” he continued, repeating a claim that he has made even as a U.S. jet was struck by suspected Iranian fire.
Trump went on to claim that the U.S. didn’t need “the thing called the strait” in an apparent reference to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical Iran-controlled waterway where oil from the Persian Gulf passes through.
“The thing called the strait that we don’t need, that other countries need, that other countries don’t want to fight for—this is unbelievable. We’re fighting for everyone else,” he said as he redirected the attention back to himself.
“We had a great first term, and now I think this is not only a better term, [it’s] better than anybody’s had,” he went on.
In another clip posted by MAGA influencer Bo Loudon, Trump touted first lady Melania as “a movie star.” Her eponymous documentary topped the Amazon Prime streaming chart after its release last weekend, following massive blows at the box office.
“It bothers me because I’ve been telling her my whole life, ‘There’s only room for one star in the family,’” he quipped.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s appearance at the event.
On Friday night, the Republican Party of Palm Beach County hosted its Lincoln Day Gala at the Mar-a-Lago Club.
Tickets for the event, billed as “Palm Beach County’s premier Republican events of the year,” started at $1,200.
The guest list included Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, who got a glowing endorsement from Trump onstage.
