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Article snippet: WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As he walked down the red carpet to begin his New Year’s Eve celebrations Sunday night, President Trump stopped to predict “a tremendous year” ahead. It certainly appeared to be getting off to a lavish start at his Mar-a-Lago club. Before the president arrived — flanked by his 11-year-old son, Barron, and his wife, Melania — a string of guests decked out in jewels, fur and sequins had already streamed in, having paid hundreds of dollars each to celebrate with the president and his family. But for all the opulence of the annual gala, it was also something else for Mr. Trump: familiar. He has been ringing in the new year at Mar-a-Lago for more than a decade, surrounded by his private club members in the glittering halls of the renovated home of the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. It was perhaps the fitting culmination of 10 days of vacation firmly rooted in old routines: days at his golf course, nights at Mar-a-Lago, and a smattering of Twitter posts and meetings punctuating the moments in between. “Donald Trump knows that he will not be measured on how much time he spent here,” said Christopher Ruddy, the chief executive of Newsmax Media and a longtime confidant. “He will be measured on the results, and be judged on how the economy has done and how he’s protected the security of the country.” He is certainly not the first president to indulge in multiple days of golf or evade the press pool that trails him in white vans. And he a... Link to the full article to read more