President-elect Donald Trump’s lavish New Year’s Eve party gave a hint on who really holds the power in Trumpworld as he’s set to take over Washington again in less than 20 days.
Trump already sided with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on the issue of H1-B visas over MAGA mainstays including Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer.
But he doubled down on that pronouncement by keeping Musk at his side all night.
Musk got a better position alongside Trump in the ballroom than Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, who, with his wife Usha, was the first of the VIPs to walk Mar-a-Lago’s red carpet Tuesday night.
Soon after the Vances walked by the row of cameras, Elon sauntered in, with his son X on his shoulders and his mother Maye nearby.
Melania Trump appeared ready to resume her role as first lady as she comfortably stood alongside the president-elect on the red carpet and inside the ballroom.
She looked stately in a black ballgown and even answered a reporter’s question.
Bannon – whose ‘Breitbart embassy’ was known to throw packed house parties back in the day – wasn’t in attendance.
A source familiar said not to read too much into that.
Elon Musk and his son X (center left) were seated directly beside President-elect Donald Trump (center right) and Melania Trump in Mar-a-Lago’s ornate ballroom where revelers greeted the new year
Former and future first lady Melania Trump (right) was at her husband’s side as he talked to reporters Tuesday night and again inside the ballroom
‘Steve spends the Christmas and New Year’s with family out west – he has never attended Mar-a-Lago NYE,’ the source told DailyMail.com.
‘Those who know him, know he doesn’t do parties. He didn’t attend one party during 2017 inaugural festivities. He is not a party guy. His focus is the work.’
Loomer, who lives in Florida and has appeared at other Trump events across the bridge at the Palm Beach Convention Center, also appeared not to be there.
She didn’t immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s inquiry about whether she had been snubbed, though continued to post on X Wednesday about her clash with Musk, which saw her account limited on the social media platform.
‘I didn’t realize that when I was traveling the country working 20 hours a day to help Trump get elected that I would be getting a co-presidency with tech billionaires who have so much disdain for the MAGA base,’ Loomer wrote Wednesday morning. ‘Sad to see so many who fought for him get unverified. Disappointed.’
Among Trump’s famous family members one was noticeably missing: daughter Ivanka.
While she and her husband Jared Kushner moved to Washington to work in the first administration, Ivanka has mostly stayed away from the political fray heading into Trump 2.0.
Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist who’s a top Trump ally, was not at the party and continued to rage against Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy during posts on X on New Year’s Day
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance (left) and Usha Vance (right) were the first of the VIPs to enter Mar-a-Lago during Tuesday night’s New Year’s Eve party – though Elon got prime seating
Elon Musk (center) walked the red carpet with toddler X on his shoulders and alongside his mother Maye (back left)
Donald Trump Jr. debuted his new girlfriend, Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, on the Mar-a-Lago red carpet, whirling her by waiting TV news cameras
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance (right) and his wife Usha (center) pose for a photo with another Mar-a-Lago guest at Tuesday night’s New Year’s Eve fete
President-elect Donald Trump (left) and former and future first lady Melania Trump (right) react to one of the performances during Tuesday night’s New Year’s Eve party
Trump gave a brief address to partygoers at Mar-a-Lago as the party got underway
She did appear alongside her father at the Mar-a-Lago election night shindig.
Ahead of Christmas she, Kushner and the couple’s three kids went on a beach vacation.
Barron Trump was also a no-show on the Mar-a-Lago red carpet Tuesday night.
Trump has credited Barron with his decision to go on certain podcasts during his 2024 run, which made him more palatable to Gen-Z voters, especially young men.
Donald Trump Jr. turned heads Tuesday as he debuted his new girlfriend, Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, after calling off his engagement to Kimberly Guilfoyle, who the president-elect is shipping to Athens to be the next U.S. ambassador to Greece.
Anderson didn’t post any pictures of herself and Trump Jr. at the fete, though coyly tagged her dress and jewels in a post.
Lara Trump was also the center of attention after walking the red carpet with Eric, as she got up onstage and sang her rendition of Tom Petty’s ‘I Won’t Back Down.’
Lara recently pulled herself out of contention for the Florida U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Marco Rubio, who Trump selected to be his first secretary of State.
Lara Trump, who co-chaired the Republican National Committee during the 2024 race, got up onstage and sang Tom Petty’s ‘I Won’t Back Down’
The president-elect’s ex-wife Marla Maples (left) was at the party with her daughter Tiffany Trump (right) who’s expecting her first child
Tiffany Trump walked into the party with husband Michael Boulos – and showcased a growing baby bump, as the couple announced in October that she was expecting.
Tiffany’s mother, Trump’s second wife Marla Maples, was also invited to spend New Year’s with the Trump clan.
‘Welcome 2025, shine bright,’ Maples posted to her Instagram story cheesing for the camera alongside her daughter.
Several top members of Trump’s incoming administration were on hand including Rep. Mike Waltz, who will serve as his national security adviser, Alina Habba, who’s slated to be his counselor to the president and Linda McMahon, his secretary of Education designate.
Roger Stone, one of Trump’s original political advisers, also attended the fete.
Members of Congress included GOP Reps. Tom Emmer, Jason Smith and Guy Reschenthaler.
Emmer and Trump had a previous beef but they patched it early last year before the election.
Same with Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, who was also at the party.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who was a 2016 primary rival of Trump but has since become an ally, is photographed arriving at Mar-a-Lago. His wife Heidi wasn’t far behind
Ginger Gaetz, the wife of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, posted a picture that suggested the couple was at Mar-a-Lago but they didn’t walk the red carpet. She later posted something that suggested she was watching New Year’s Eve festivites on TV
They were political opponents for the 2016 Republican nomination, with Trump even insulting the looks of Cruz’s wife Heidi.
Heidi Cruz was at the senator’s side Tuesday night.
While House Speaker Mike Johnson wasn’t physically at the property, Trump doubled down on his support of the Louisiana Republican when talking to reporters.
‘He’s the one who can win right now. People like him, almost everybody likes him others are very good too but they have 30 or 40 people that don’t like ’em,’ Trump said.
‘He’s a wonderful person and that’s what you need,’ the president-elect added.
Ginger Gaetz, the wife of former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, posted a picture Tuesday night that seemed to suggest the couple was on hand.
‘You never forget a New Years Eve at Mar a Lago,’ she wrote.
But they didn’t walk the red carpet in front of the TV cameras and later Ginger indicated she was watching New Year’s Eve programming on TV.
She didn’t respond to a request for comment about the post.
Gaetz resigned from Congress after Trump named him his first choice for attorney general but bowed out of the confirmation process when the president-elect told him the votes weren’t there.
He was the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation that found he paid women he was sleeping with, including an underage girl, and took illegal drugs while a House member.
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