WASHINGTON (AP) — For a man who loves the spotlight, Donald Trump has been conspicuously out of sight since his triumph in the presidential election last week.
There were no rallies, no press conferences, no speeches. Instead, Trump has spent most of his first week as president-elect behind closed doors at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, making phone calls, networking with foreign leaders and building his recent administration.
Trump is hardly in seclusion. He is surrounded by advisors, friends and paying members of his club who provide him with advice and assistance as he selects people for top government positions. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man whose companies have won billions of dollars in federal contracts, was a constant presence. Some see Musk as the second-largest figure in Trump’s immediate circle after his campaign chairman and future chief of staff Susie Wiles.
“Very productive day at work from the transition team,” Musk posted on X, his social media company, on Monday evening.
Trump is expected to return to the public eye on Wednesday when he goes to the White House to meet with President Joe Biden and visits Capitol Hill to meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican lawmakers to advise. Overall, Trump is laying the groundwork for his second presidency much more quickly than his first.
Trump is also expected to meet with Republicans on Capitol Hill as they prepare to outline his priorities for the first day in what could be a unified administration with sweeping Republican power in Washington.
That doesn’t mean the private trial lacks the murderous atmosphere that Trump has long fomented in those around him. A former White House official still close to Trump compared the situation at Mar-a-Lago to the Game of Thrones drama series, and another former Trump official also described disordered jockeying for jobs. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal dynamics.
When Trump won a shocking victory over Hillary Clinton eight years ago, he wasn’t out of sight for long. Two days after the election, he visited President Barack Obama at the White House and then met with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill.
“We will push immigration very hard,” he said at the time. “We will make great strides in healthcare. And we’re looking for jobs. Big league jobs.”
Back in New York, Trump Tower was transformed into the backdrop of a recent political reality show. The media camped out in the lobby of Trump’s namesake skyscraper to see who came and went. Sometimes Trump would ride the elevator down to offer an update or introduce a guest.
In a notable moment in December, the rapper then known as Kanye West appeared with Trump, saying the two had “been friends for a long time.” Asked what they discussed, Trump replied: “Life. We talked about life.” Trump later came under hefty criticism in 2022 for having dinner with Ye and a white nationalist who denied the Holocaust.
Eight years ago, Trump also held transition meetings in New Jersey at his golf course in Bedminster, where the media gathered for many days in front of the assembled cameras for a procession of candidates.
Some, like future Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, eventually received job offers. Others, like Mitt Romney, did not. After the Romney meeting, the two walked out together and shook hands next to an American flag. Trump quickly gave a thumbs up and said it “went great.”
The current regulation is completely different. There is no public access to Mar-a-Lago, which appears to be under even tighter security than it was in the immediate aftermath of the two assassination attempts against Trump.
The roundabout in front of the property’s entrance is completely barricaded, and on a recent afternoon vehicles from the Beach County sheriff’s office and Secret Service were seen on guard duty, along with unmarked police cars, black vans and a golf cart.
Instead, Trump announced his selection in statements and posts on his Truth Social website, while his comings and goings were recorded on social media by club members and their guests, who, as always, have near-unfettered access.
In a video, he can be seen dancing to “YMCA” on the club’s crowded terrace. In another, he and his wife Melania are cheered as they arrive for dinner. They were also seen sitting at a table with Musk.
Trump is known to have only left Mar-a-Lago once since the election to tour another of his properties. On Sunday, he returned to his nearby golf course — the same golf course where an eagle-eyed Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a gun aimed through the property’s fence, foiling a possible shootout — to play with his teenage granddaughter, Kai.
“Sundays with Grandpa,” she posted on Instagram. Other photos from that day show Trump sitting next to Kai in a golf cart, wearing a white golf shirt and later in a burgundy leather chair in the club’s restaurant as someone leans in for a drink conversation.
Musk was also spotted at the course where he was introduced to members. Kai posted a photo of herself posing with Musk and his youthful son and said that Trump was “reaching uncle status.”
In fact, Musk sometimes seemed like a member of the family. On election night, he was seen giving his son a piggyback ride through a Mar-a-Lago ballroom and joined a family photo of the president-elect with his children and grandchildren.
Since then, he has tried to put his stamp on every issue facing the recent administration, according to people familiar with his efforts who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the vigorous. His attempts to influence extend to issues that go beyond his expertise, such as border security.
Trump has said he plans to give Musk a formal role as head of a group that would recommend ways to make the federal government more productive. Musk suggested he could find more than $2 trillion in savings – nearly a third of total annual spending.
Trump also joined Musk in a post-election conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who hopes the United States will continue its military assistance to repel the Russian invasion. Both Trump and Musk have expressed skepticism about supporting Ukraine, and Trump often speaks admiringly of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has vowed to end the war before Inauguration Day.
Positions in the incoming Trump administration are now being offered much more quickly than the first time around. In 2016, Trump announced his leadership team, including his chief of staff, on the Sunday after the election. But he waited 10 days for his first Cabinet appointment
This time, Trump quickly appointed Wiles as his chief of staff. He has also tapped Stephen Miller, an anti-immigrant advocate, as a political adviser and Tom Homan as his “border czar.” Trump has picked New York Rep. Elise Stefanik to be his ambassador to the United Nations and former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency. He announced a series of additional personnel moves on Tuesday, including former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe taking over as head of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Competition for jobs has been intense this year. While Trump’s election in 2016 was a surprise, this time allies have spent four years putting together rosters and policy proposals. Candidates are represented by PR agencies and lobbyists. A potential cabinet man hired advisers to polish his image.
While Trump had said he already had people in mind for various roles, Howard Lutnick, the human resources co-chair of Trump’s transition team, previously told The Associated Press that he had not discussed recommendations with Trump before his victory because the President-elect is notoriously superstitious.
“What I do is find the best candidates for the job. So for each role there will be, let’s say, eight great nominees – fully vetted, fully eligible for Senate confirmation, okay?” he said. “Then he will start the interview and think. That’s up to him, right? He’s the one who chooses.”
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Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Stephany Matat in Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
