A spate of social media posts expressing hope that Hurricane Irma trashes President Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., resort is producing a backlash of disgust and criticism.
The president’s famed Mar-a-Lago estate – the so-called “winter White House” in southeast Florida where Trump has spent many weekends since his inauguration — looks like it could suffer some major damage if the Category 5 hurricane continues on its projected path.
Trump declared a state of emergency in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Tuesday night and Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a Facebook post that “Irma is shaping up to be bigger than Andrew” – in reference to the 1992 storm that killed dozens and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
Irma has already been blamed for 10 deaths in the Caribbean and is expected to cause millions, or even billions, of dollars in damage in its wake.
Some social media users have posted the address and GPS coordinates of Mar-a-Lago and pleaded with Irma to head there.
Then there are those who hope Irma misses Mar-a-Lago completely, but just because they want Tropical Storm Jose – a more Hispanic-sounding name than “Irma” — to take aim at the estate.
Imagine the poetic justice of a hurricane named “Jose” destroying Mar-A-Lago.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn) September 6, 2017
Others have directed their social media posts to a higher power to ask for divine intervention.
Dear Humans,
Please find shelter. I don't want any of you innocent, wonderful people to get hurt.
I only wanted to destroy Mar-A-Lago.
😬
— God (@TheGoodGodAbove) September 6, 2017
Despite the humor in some of these tweets, there has been blowback from those who don’t find Irma’s destructive power comical.
Your jokes about Irma hitting Mar-a-Lago aren't cute or funny. People have lost everything, and more are about to.
— Mandy (@mand_y_not_i) September 7, 2017
The Number of People Begging Hurricane Irma to Wipe out Mar-A-Lago — And Only Mar-A-Lago — Is Sickening https://t.co/GIdaKZuzmM
— Victor Granito (@unclevic27) September 7, 2017
Wherever Irma makes landfall in Florida, it will have already battered one of Trump’s other seaside properties.
Sitting on Plum Bay on the island of Saint Martin, about 200 miles east of Puerto Rico in the Leeward Antilles, is an 11-bedroom home that Trump owns. The home, which Trump says he currently rents out, is up for sale for $16.9 million – a price reduced from $28 million – but could be worth much less after Irma passes through.
