As Iran vowed “devastating strikes” after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in air strikes, US President Donald Trump was working in a different room, welcoming donors in tuxedos under the gilded ceilings of his Mar-a-Lago resort.A video posted on Instagram appears to show Trump welcoming wealthy visitors to his West Palm Beach club on the night Tehran vowed to launch “devastating strikes” in response to the airstrikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.
“Khamenei is dead!”: Trump announces the end of the Iranian Supreme Leader in the Israeli-American attack
Trump admitted in a post on Truth Social at 2 a.m. in the early hours of Saturday morning that he expected American citizens to die in the war he had just started, but that did not affect the party schedule at Trump’s private beach resort.
The Daily Beast reported that Carolyn Leavitt assured White House reporters Saturday afternoon that the president would take time out from launching wave after wave of missile strikes against Iran to mingle with millionaires at a Republican Party fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.Florida vaping mogul Shlomi Ivgi posted photos on Instagram Saturday night that showed him with Trump’s top diplomatic minds, Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff.
He also posted video footage of Trump in a gilded room, wearing a gold tie, and shaking hands with prominent guests who paid large sums to attend the fundraiser.“Nice to meet Marco Rubio,” wrote Ivji, who received a written warning from the FDA for violating US tobacco laws in 2024. The CEO of QR Joy, which makes e-cigarettes under the Fume brand, is a regular at Mar-a-Lago and has met Trump on several occasions, according to a set of photos on his Instagram account.The White House did not respond to a request to confirm that Trump was celebrating Saturday night, but Levitt was clear earlier in the day. She added: “President Trump still intends to stop by the fundraiser being held at Mar-a-Lago this evening for the Republican Party, which is more important than ever.”In the hours before launching war in the Middle East, Trump danced to the YMCA and Lee Greenwood’s MAGA classic “God Bless the USA,” while a black-tie crowd interrupted the charity cocktail party chanting “USA! USA!”The guests did not know that the US military was preparing for joint strikes on Iran with Israel at that very moment.
Trump quickly disappeared behind a curtain in a makeshift room to monitor the attacks.Once the party guests went home, Trump posted a wild video on Truth Social declaring the war had begun.In the 24 hours that followed, missile attacks occurred on at least 10 countries: Iran, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, and Qatar. The UK also said missiles heading to Cyprus, an island in Europe with a large British military base, had been intercepted.The New York Times reported late last year that Mar-a-Lago would host a fundraiser this weekend, which would cost $1 million per person to attend.
