Sources in Donald Trump’s inner circle said the president-elect often leaves late-night voicemails to aides and officials, opening with: ‘This is your favorite president.’
Trump’s nocturnal habits were revealed this week by insiders who dished on the 78-year-old’s day-to-day routine at Mar-a-Lago as he prepares to re-enter the White House, which includes a dizzying array of lavish dinners and midnight meetings.
Insiders told the New York Times that Trump has been soaking up his post-election victory at his Florida estate, where he has made over 80 cabinet and personnel announcements in the 37 days since.
Of these 80 announcements, 45 have been made on social media after 6pm, and many after 10pm, highlighting Trump’s tendency to work late into the night.
Mar-a-Lago has also hosted to a number of world leaders and business titans in the weeks since Trump’s win, with his 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 on imports.
Although both Trump and Trudeau said after their dinner that it was ‘very productive’, sources told the Times that Trump couldn’t resist taking a jab at his counterpart by quipping that 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 becoming a member and adverts for plastic surgery, an anonymous Canadian source told the outlet.
When Trump reportedly leaves voicemails for insiders describing himself as their ‘favorite president’, they say he often follows up the next day by suggesting they may want to share the audio with friends and family.
In response, Trump’s incoming communications director Steven Cheung said the president-elect’s late night habits are a good sign that ‘important work is being done day and night.’
Cheung cited Trump’s reputation in his first term for firing off inflammatory or geopolitically important tweets well into the night, hinting that Trump is not concerned with journalists needing to work around the clock to cover him.
‘The only complaints I’ve heard are from reporters who are angry their dinner plans at Le Dip and their cocktail parties are spoiled,’ Cheung added.
In his day-to-day routine at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s team says he holds meetings all day from the estate’s tearoom or in his private office.
Sources told the Times that while the transition team says Trump is in back-to-back meetings during the day, aides have come to expect the most activity after the sun sets.
This was evident after his meeting with Trudeau, as Trump made no secret of his quip that Canada should become a US state.
Taking to his social media site Truth Social, he called Trudeau the ‘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 locals on the outdoor dining patio of his property.
He often commands an iPad to control the music, which in the past has seen him turn his hand as 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’ over the changeover of power.
That standoff lasted for three weeks, and even when it was over at the end of November, Trump’s team signaled that they would not be handling the transition in traditional fashion.
They will not sign a separate work agreement with the General Services Administration, which has office space and secure IT support at the ready.
They vowed at the time to abide by their own pre-existing ‘Ethics Pledge’ and will continue to use private funding for the transition efforts – but said they would disclose the names of donors to the American public – claiming ‘we will not require additional government and bureaucratic oversight.’
‘The Transition will not utilize taxpayer funding for costs related to the transition, which is consistent with President Trump’s commitment to save taxpayers’ hard-earned money,’ the announcement said.
It comes as Trump’s transition team faces several bruising confirmation fights, including his pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who suffered a deluge of negative stories after he was announced.
On Thursday, the embattled nominee told reporters that he spoke with Trump that morning, amid rumors that the president-elect may be cooling his interest in picking 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 supports us fully,’ Hegseth said.
Asked if he’ll meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, he acknowledged that it was the president-elect calling the shots. ‘If he wants a meeting we will have a meeting,’ he said.