Sources in Donald Trump’s inner circle said the president-elect often leaves late-night voicemails to aides and officials, beginning with, “This is your favorite president.”
Trump’s nighttime habits were revealed this week by insiders who were privy to the 78-year-old’s daily routine at Mar-a-Lago as he prepared to re-enter the White House, with a dizzying array of lavish dinners and midnight gatherings .
Insiders have said so New York Times that Trump enjoyed his post-election victory at his Florida estate, where he has made more than 80 cabinet and staff announcements in the 37 days since.
Of these 80 announcements, 45 were made on social media after 6 p.m., and many after 10 p.m., highlighting Trump’s tendency to work late into the night.
Mar-a-Lago has also played host to a number of world leaders and business giants in the weeks since Trump’s victory, with its recent meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raising eyebrows.
Trudeau had dinner with Trump on November 29, in the wake of his threat to hit Canada and Mexico with a 25 percent tariff.
Although both Trump and Trudeau said after their dinner that it was “very productive,” sources told the Times that Trump couldn’t resist poking fun at his counterpart by saying Canada “could become a state.”
At the end of their evening, Trump then gave Trudeau a copy of Mar-a-Lago’s magazine, which was filled with details about membership and advertisements for plastic surgery, an anonymous Canadian source told the outlet.
Sources in Donald Trump’s inner circle this week revealed intimate details about his late-night work hours, including a funny voicemail he often leaves for aides about being their “favorite president”
Trump prepares to return to the White House from his Mar-a-Lago estate, where he recently held dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
When Trump reportedly leaves voicemails for insiders describing themselves as their “favorite president,” they say he often follows up the next day by suggesting they might want to share the audio with friends and family.
In response, Trump’s new communications director Steven Cheung said the president-elect’s late night habits are a good sign that “important work is being done around the clock.”
Cheung cited Trump’s reputation during his first term for firing off inflammatory or geopolitically significant tweets late into the night, suggesting Trump is not concerned about journalists having to work around the clock to cover him.
“The only complaints I’ve heard are from reporters who are upset about their dinner plans at Le Dip and their cocktail parties being spoiled,” Cheung added.
In his daily routine at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s team says he holds meetings all day from the estate’s tea room or in his private office.
Sources told the Times that while the transition team says Trump will have back-to-back meetings during the day, aides expect the most activity after the sun sets.
This became clear after his meeting with Trudeau, when Trump made no secret of his joke that Canada should become an American state.
On his social media site Truth Social, he called Trudeau the “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.”
Trudeau, seen leaving his meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on November 29, was jokingly branded by Trump as “governor of the great state of Canada”
When the sun sets at Mar-a-Lago, Trump is known to pause his White House transition work to greet members and play music, as seen on Thanksgiving this year
When the sun sets at Mar-a-Lago, Trump has been known to pause his White House transition work to greet members and locals on the outdoor patio of his property.
He often controls an iPad to control the music, which has led him to DJ at the estate’s Halloween party last year.
The transition got off to a bumpy start as the Biden administration struggled to agree to a Memorandum of Understanding on the transfer of power.
That standoff lasted three weeks, and even when it ended in late November, Trump’s team signaled that they would not handle the transition in a traditional manner.
They will not sign a separate working agreement with the General Services Administration, which has office space and secure IT support.
They pledged at the time that they would adhere to their own pre-existing “Ethics Pledge” and that they will continue to use private financing for the transition efforts — but said they would release the names of donors to the American public — claiming “we will not require additional financing’. government and bureaucratic supervision.’
“The transition will not use taxpayer funding for costs related to the transition, which is consistent with President Trump’s pledge to save taxpayers’ hard-earned money,” the announcement said.
President-elect Donald Trump (left) shakes hands with President Joe Biden (right) during their Oval Office meeting on November 13. The transition was held up because Trump’s team refused to sign three MOUs with the federal government
It comes as Trump’s transition team faces several painful confirmation battles, including his pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who faced a barrage of negative stories after he was announced.
It comes as Trump’s transition team faces several painful confirmation battles, including his pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who faced a barrage of negative stories after he was announced.
On Thursday, the embattled candidate told reporters that he had spoken to Trump that morning, amid rumors that the newly elected president may be cooling his interest in choosing Hegseth.
Hegseth was back on Capitol Hill for more one-on-one meetings with senators after media reports that he would meet with Trump.
“I spoke to Trump this morning, just a few minutes ago. He fully supports us,” Hegseth said.
When asked if he would meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, he acknowledged that it was the president-elect who was taking the lead. “If he wants a meeting, we will have a meeting,” he said.