Donald and Melania Trump Slammed Over 'Cringe' Dinner Tradition

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump have been mocked for their grand entrances to events hosted at their home.

The former First Lady hosted an Easter gathering at their sprawling Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and videos of her arrival with son Barron Trump, 18, and her father, Viktor Knavs, show them flanked by supporters as they smile and wave to people.

The various videos went viral on social media, leading to Melania's name trending on X, formerly Twitter.

One tweet mocked their entrance as "super cringe" to enter an event in such a lavish way. "I'm going to start lining up friends in my living room to applaud me making my way to the fridge 🥴," @kellda wrote on X.

Others also criticized Trump for the fanfare he received just for going to dinner.

"Trump arrives at Mar a Lago Easter dinner to cheer and adulation, his safe zone," commented @manpower1955.

"I've read that when trump goes to dinner at Mar-a-Lago, diners who are there give him a standing ovation. That's his empty future. Basking in applause from people eating supper. A well-deserved fall to *he doesn't matter anymore*," wrote @tom_lowell_born.

Mar-a-Lago had originally been a "home away from home" for the Trumps, but they made it their permanent residence in 2021 after Trump left the White House, according to its website. The estate is also a private members club, which the former president founded in 1995.

Members of the exclusive club are able to book dining experiences there, including parties attended and hosted by the Trump family, even on major holidays. The grand entrances, accompanied by friends cheering them on seems all part of the experience.

But the lavish entrances reportedly continued after Trump lost the presidency because he apparently missed the attention he used to receive as Commander-in-Chief, along with the etiquette of people being required to stand when he entered a room, according to a report in The Washington Post.

"We had to explain to him that he didn't have a group standing around waiting for him anymore," an unnamed former aide told the publication in 2022.

Another unnamed source in the article added of the requirement to applaud the Trumps at Mar-a-Lago: "The appetite for attention hasn't waned, but that's where he gets it now."

Those sentiments were echoed by PR expert Mark Goldman, managing partner at the Goldman McCormick public relations firm in New York City.

"Trump probably enjoyed the experience during his White House tenure and wanted it to continue," he told Newsweek and added that "from a PR perspective, it's a great visual and all presidential candidates should be doing this."

"When people view an individual being perpetually applauded, it shows that they are commanding the respect of those who are present. Regardless of one's political affiliation, I think many would agree that Trump is very good at self-branding," Goldman added.

While Marco Greenberg, a senior partner at the Thunder11 PR firm explained that Trump requiring standing ovations when he enters a room was "not rocket science."

"Trump has a burning need to demonstrate clear and total control. He's reinforcing the hierarchy that he's the top alpha male in the room and hell bent to win back the most powerful job in the world," he told Newsweek.

"Whether it's satisfying his oversized ego, or compensating for his insecurities, or flaunting his wealth to his MAGA worshiping base, these antics only make his many detractors all the more suspicious of his dictatorial tendencies."

Melania has added her personal touch to Mar-a-Lago in recent years, despite restrictions on remodelling due to the historic easement Trump signed in 1985 when he bought the property.

"When you really study what she's done there, it's almost like a little bit of each of her predecessors," Mary Shanklin, the author of American Castle: One Hundred Years of Mar-a-Lago told Newsweek in November.

Shanklin explained that Melania has styled Mar-a-Lago with a "splash of statement with flowers, colors and lighting, which is understandable with her background of being a model." And part of her style is undoubtedly her ability to carry off the grand entrance.

Newsweek contacted Trump's representatives by email for comment.

The response to the post about Trump's choice of event entrance at Mar-a-Lago was mixed.

"They dress up for dinner. Which I admit, I like. But this with the photographers and roped off areas seems like it's a TV show. The expense just in staffing to cater to all that fluff must be astounding," replied @debidiamonds.

Another person, @RedWeatherTiger added: "Why can't a billionaire afford to live in a place like Maralago alone, without paying guests there to help with all the bills? Isn't that the weirdest thing for a billionaire to need to do? Does Bill Gates have folks renting rooms in his house?"

And @PGard0191 wrote: "Wow, they really get on your last nerve. This is sweet!"

Update 4/2/24, 10:33 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from Mark Goldman and Marco Greenberg.