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While President Donald Trump stayed in Washington D.C. over Christmas, amid the federal government shutdown, stock market tumble and other political crises, his children and grandchildren celebrated the holiday at his Mar-a-Lago private resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
That includes Donald Trump Jr., his five children and ex-wife Vanessa Trump, as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner and presumably their three children — though Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, White House senior advisors, were initially reported over the weekend to be staying in Washington D.C. to help the president deal with their administration’s latest turmoil.
However, the Daily Mail published photos of Ivanka Trump jogging near Mar-a-Lago on Christmas morning, and Ivanka and Jared, dressed respectively in a summer dress and shorts, taking a stroll near the resort later that day.
In any case, joining the Mar-a-Lago festivities this year was a new addition to the family fold: Kimberly Guilfoyle, the one-time first lady of San Francisco and ex-Fox News host.
Donald Trump Jr.’s new girlfriend and political partner got into the spirit of a tropical Christmas by posting an Instagram photo of herself poolside at Mar-a-Lago, donning sunglasses, a slight pouty smile and what looked like a black, zip-up bikini top.
“Merry Christmas,” Guilfoyle, 49, captioned her photo, along with Christmas tree, beach umbrella and American flag emojis.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Br0mW0Ngn-7/?hl=en
On Christmas Eve, Guilfoyle, the ex-wife of California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, came to the defense of the president, her boyfriend and the rest of their controversial family. She did so by taking to Twitter to call “theentire” family “patriots and great Americans that put country first.”
I have witnessed this first hand campaigning across the country with @DonaldJTrumpJr on behalf of @realDonaldTrump and the great candidates that support America First policies. The entire Trump family are patriots and great Americans that put country first. 🇺🇸 🙏 https://t.co/604YEIng4Q
— Kimberly Guilfoyle (@kimguilfoyle) December 24, 2018
Her tweet came the same day that Democratic congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement, saying the president “is plunging the country into chaos,” Axios reported. The statement by House Speaker nominee Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer followed the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting 653 points Monday in the worst day of trading on Christmas Eve in history.
Pelosi and Schumer said, “The stock market is tanking and the president is waging a personal war on the Federal Reserve — after he just fired the Secretary of Defense.” The two also said the president, instead of “bringing certainty into people’s lives,” is continuing his “Trump shutdown justto please right-wing radio and TV hosts.”
Up until recently, Guilfoyle was one of those right-wing TV hosts. She is now vice chair of America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC. With Trump Jr., she campaigned around the country for GOP mid-term election candidates who supported Trump and his MAGA agenda.
While Guilfoyle’s Twitter defense of the Trumps won favor from people who love her and the president, it was widely ridiculed as coming from “Fantasy Land,” as one Twitter user put it. Another posted this:
😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/nlRhqGmVnr
— 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩 🖖🇺🇸 (@theinformedwin) December 24, 2018
Other users accused the first family of trying to profit from Trump’s presidency or pointed out the number of federal and state investigations threatening Trump, his campaign, his three oldest children, their family business and their family charity.
Witness this! pic.twitter.com/r9lbZG5N9l
— Susan Robertson 🌊 (@susanrwncomau) December 24, 2018
Meanwhile, the choice by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner to abandon the White House and head down to Florida for vacation amidst the shutdown faced questions and criticism on social media, notably from Crooked Media co-founder Tommy Vietor, a former spokesperson for President Barack Obama and the National Security Council, and from Vox co-founder Matthew Yglesias.
https://twitter.com/TVietor08/status/1077921155389014016
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1077931209806757888
But whatever controversies have been swirling around the president, they weren’t going to stop his children, grandchildren and children’s significant others from enjoying their extravagent holiday.
For example, on Christmas Eve, Guilfoyle posted a photo of her and Trump Jr. at the swanky 21 Club in Manhattan, where they presumably had dinner before making their way down to Mar-a-Lago.
Trump Jr. also showed that he and ex-wife Vanessa Trump are amicably co-parenting their five children by celebrating Christmas together in Mar-a-Lago. He and Vanessa Trump posed for an Instagram photo in front of a lavish Christmas tree with their children, Kai, 11, Donald III, 9, Tristan, 7, Spencer, 6, and Chloe, 4. Guilfoyle was expected to bring her 12-year-old son from her second marriage to Mar-a-Lago for Christmas.
Trump Jr. also praised his father and stepmother Melania Trump for staying behind at the White House and taking Christmas Eve calls from children contacting the NORAD Tracks Santa program, asking about Santa Claus’s whereabouts.
But then, the president was widely mocked on social media for questioning a 7-year-old South Carolina girl’s belief in Santa Claus, the Hollywood Reporter and other outlets reported.
“Are you still a believer in Santa?” Trump asked. When the girl responded, “Yes, sir,” the president added, “Because at 7, that’s marginal, right?”
Donald Trump Crushes Child's Dream of Santa Claus During Christmas Call https://t.co/XviZVWspqz
— TMZ (@TMZ) December 25, 2018
Prior to arriving in Palm Beach for Christmas, Trump Jr. shared photos of himself with his oldest son, Donald III, duck hunting in North Carolina.
He and Guilfoyle also were in South Florida last week,speaking at the four-day Turning Point USA summit for conservative student activists, the Palm Beach Daily News reported.
At the summit, Guilfoyle and Trump Jr. joined Rush Limbaugh at the organization’s gala fundraiser dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where attendees paid at least $2500 a piece and Limbaugh was honored with a “Lifetime Achievement Award,” Mother Jones reported.
Great to be @TPUSA #StudentActionSummit Mar-a-Lago with @DonaldJTrumpJr @charliekirk11 and my friend #RushLimbaugh who received the well deserved Lifetime Achievement Award! 🇺🇸👍 pic.twitter.com/rB0llmPZLj
— Kimberly Guilfoyle (@kimguilfoyle) December 22, 2018
