Trump did open Mar-a-Lago to blacks and Jews — but in a business move, not a crusade

A years-old pro-Trump Facebook post that’s still viral shows a photo of a young Donald Trump with the headline: "So You Think You Know The Real Donald Trump?"

The post claims that Trump did good deeds for five individuals, and it makes a claim of one larger gesture, saying:

"Donald Trump sued the City of Palm Beach when he bought a segregated club, Mar A Lago, to open it to Jews & Blacks."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Trump did accept African Americans and Jews at Mar-a-Lago at a time when most private clubs in Palm Beach, Fla., were not open to them. 

But it was a business move, not a crusade, and he did not sue in court to do so.

Here’s what happened, based on reports from the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair and other media.

Mar-a-Lago (in Spanish, sea-to-lake) was a mansion built by cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1927. Trump bought the 128-room, 20-acre estate and its furnishings in 1985, for $9 million. 

Trump used Mar-a-Lago as a private residence until 1995, when he turned it into a private club, open to anyone who could afford the $100,000 initiation fee.

That made his club different from other Palm Beach clubs (only one was open to Jews). Trump’s club was the first to accept African Americans and openly gay couples, according to the Washington Post.

Trump lawyer Paul Rampell eventually persuaded Trump of the business value of wider membership by arguing that Palm Beach had many Jewish residents but they had no real club of their own, Laurence Leamer wrote in his book, "Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump’s Presidential Palace."

So, what about a lawsuit?

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Before making Mar-a-Lago a private club, Trump originally wanted to subdivide the land and sell mansions on it. After a year of meetings and hearings, the Palm Beach Town Council voted down the project. 

After Trump sued the town for $50 million, the town approved the club (the lawsuit was settled), but with restrictions to limit traffic and noise.

Trump didn’t invoke African Americans and Jews until he tried to get those restrictions lifted. In December 1996, when the town council refused, he sued, alleging that the town was discriminating against Mar-a-Lago, in part because it was open to Jews and African Americans. The town denied the allegation, saying it was merely deciding a zoning matter.

In any case, the lawsuit was not about opening the club to Jews and African Americans; it was already open to them. 

A Facebook post claims: "Donald Trump sued the City of Palm Beach when he bought a segregated club, Mar A Lago, to open it to Jews & Blacks."

Trump used Mar-a-Lago for a private residence for a decade before opening it as a private club. He was a pioneer, of sorts, in Palm Beach by opening it to Jewish people and African Americans. But he did so on his own, for business reasons, and he didn’t have to go to court.

We rate the statement Mostly False.