Trump-Zelensky meet: Why was Mar-a-Lago chosen instead of the White House?

The leaders meet just a day after Moscow dropped around 500 drones and 40 missiles that rocked the Ukrainian city of Kyiv, killing at least one and injuring another 27. The strike also caused an extensive power outage where nearly 2,600 residential buildings were hit by missiles along with more than 300 schools, pre-schools or social services buildings.

Trump had earlier confirmed that he plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin soon after his meeting with Zelensky concludes. An hour before today’s meeting, Trump spoke to Putin over a phone call.

“I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

Why was Mar-a-Lago chosen for the meeting?

Although most of the official meetings between Donald Trump and other foreign leaders are held at the Oval Office of the White House, this time the two global leaders met at Florida’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

US presidents spend much of their year-ends at various holiday destinations, BBC reported adding the example that Joe Biden was in the US Virgin Islands at around this time last year.

This year, President Trump arrived at Florida’s West Palm Beach on December 19 after a rally in North Carolina and has been staying there since.

The President has been reportedly working for much of his stay in Florida although his trip plan included long golf outings at the nearby Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach, the report added.

During his work over the stay, Trump alongside secretary of state Marco Rubio and defence secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a new “Trump-class” battleship as part of the US Navy’s revamped “Golden Fleet”.

According the report, Republican strategists and political allies in town have termed the resort in Mar-a-Lago estate as the ‘winter White House’.