Inside Mar-a-Lago, the chaotic Trump epicenter: patio pitches, transition meetings and rogue guests

By Kristen Holmes, CNN

(CNN) — Mar-a-Lago is the epicenter of Donald Trump’s presidential transition, and foreign leaders, contractors and those seeking a job in the administration have descended on Palm Beach, Florida, filling hotels and seeking rental properties for the next three months to get as much face time as possible with the president-elect and his top advisers.

Members of Trump’s other properties throughout the country who normally get reciprocity to visit the clubs — but don’t for Mar-a-Lago — have reached out to the property’s management begging to get access. And some Mar-a-Lago members have been offered money by those seeking to be taken to the club as a guest and rub elbows with Trump, three sources familiar with the situation told CNN.

There are no restrictions on who members can bring as guests, and outsiders are trying to take advantage of that while it still holds.

“I don’t even know what member I went in with,” one source who visited Mar-a-Lago with several former administration officials said of a trip to the club last week.

While some guests just want to see the scene up close, others have a different agenda — securing a job in the next administration.

“Someone came up to me last night [at Mar-a-Lago] and said they were up to be press secretary,” one source close to the president-elect said. “I have never seen this person in my life.”

One guest said they reported another to the property’s security, claiming the visitor had an “unhinged” social media presence and was leaking private conversations.

Advisers insist that Trump’s transition is much more orderly this time around, and by all accounts, the transition itself has steered clear of the chaos. Trump naming his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, as chief of staff signaled to those in his orbit that there was a grown-up running the show.

Trump advisers have held formal meetings with the transition team and the president-elect during the day at the resort, presenting him with plans for policy and personnel. But the circus begins after dark, when members and guests line the hallways to greet the president-elect — and often, former first lady Melania Trump — as they walk to their usual patio table for dinner.

While Trump has a US Secret Service detail, a body man and his own entourage, he often stops and engages with members and guests, shaking hands and thanking them for being at the club. Trump’s table is roped off, but it often doesn’t stop people from visiting him during dinner or trying to stop him in transit.

“People will pitch ideas as he walks by,” one source who witnessed the interactions told CNN.

Some members and guests, including those who have their eyes on administration posts, have been seen having pull-aside talks with Trump, although advisers insist that everything is going through the proper channels.

Lawmakers have also cycled through the property in recent days. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has essentially set up residency at the beach club, where members spot him or his enormous private security detail nearly every day. Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is expected to stay in Palm Beach for most of the transition, was seen snapping photos with fans at the club last week.

Mar-a-Lago, the stone-walled oceanfront estate that Trump labeled the “Winter White House,” has long been a source of headaches for national security and intelligence professionals. Its clubby atmosphere, sprawling guest list and talkative proprietor combined into a “nightmare” for keeping the government’s most closely held secrets, CNN previously reported.

Mixing politics with his properties has also helped Trump rake in millions of dollars. With glitzy Mar-a-Lago fundraisers, stays at Trump’s hotels, and flights on the former president’s private jet, Republican candidates and political groups were on track to spend more on Trump’s businesses this year than any year since 2016, CNN reported in August.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Casey Tolan, Isabelle Chapman and Nelli Black contributed to this report.

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