News from Shiny Sheet staff writer Margie Kacoha: “Donald Trump looked positively presidential”.

Please take a deep breath. In the blog post below is a news article which cites a citizen named Mr. Donald Trump, many years prior to becoming U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

What follows is not a political statement or a political position. What follows is an account of what happened at Mar-a-Lago over twenty-five years ago.

About the reporter at the Palm Beach Daily News (aka, the Shiny Sheet):

Margie Kacoha was one of the most interesting and fascinating reporters, very clever and very funny. A memorable sense of humor.

Sadly, she passed away in April 2014. The news from Shannon Donnelly, an excerpt: “Margie was always fair and objective as a reporter,” said Kirk Blouin, town director of public safety [in Palm Beach]. “She was always cordial and was very well-liked by the members of the police and fire departments. Personally, I will miss her kind heart and strong sense of humor. We shared many good laughs through the years. Just the thought of her brings a smile to my face. She will be sorely missed.”

Now to the news. . .

Opening paragraph from front page news, above the fold, published in the Shiny Sheet headlined, “Trump expects club to open this week”:

“Flanked by his attorneys, property manager and club manager, Donald Trump looked positively presidential [emphasis added] as he signed more than two dozen documents Saturday night, transforming his palatial weekend home into the Mar-a-Lago Club.”

The newspaper clipping below is from Monday, April 3rd, 1995.

Note back in the day when the Shiny Sheet cost ¢25! And unfortunately, this particular newspaper in the collection was damaged along the way. . .

‘NO DEAL HAS BEEN MORE COMPLEX’

Click on image to enlarge:

This image is from my collection of memorabilia (public relations material, magazines, brochures, newspapers, press releases) from my ten years working at Mar-a-Lago as Director of Projects (1993–2003) for a man I addressed as “Mr. Trump”.

Another excerpt from the 1995 article
in the Shiny Sheet:

     “No deal has been more complex than to have this incredible place turned into a club,” Trump said as he sat in the middle of the estate’s great room, carefully signing one document after another before leaving town early Sunday, “I think this is the most important event to happen in Palm Beach in 50 years.
     “We’re saving Mar-a-Lago, the greatest house in the United States,” Trump said. “And it’s a totally non-discriminatory club.”

and one more. . .

     “As long as he was signing documents — a task that took almost an hour — Trump chatted about other things, like pizza commercials.
     When called to do a television commercial for Pizza Hut to run during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Trump said his first reaction was “What do I know about pizza?”
     With an offer of $500,000 on the table, Trump balked.
     “If they pay me a million dollars, I’ll do it,” Trump reported responding to that initial offer.
     A cool million later, Trump was on the tube with ex-wife Ivana.


This is a look back in time to a very special place in American History, Mar-a-Lago. Just one of the reasons why Marjorie Merriweather Post had Mar-a-Lago constructed was she wanted to invite American presidents, visiting dignitaries, and ambassadors from all over the world — in her day and into the future — to a place in the Town of Palm Beach between the sea (in Spanish, “Mar”) and the once-freshwater lake (“Lago”, now the Intracoastal), a structure that would later be coined in American history the “Winter White House”.

And in what can only be called one of the most amazing twists in American history, “Trump” in April 1995, as reported in the Shiny Sheet by Margie Kacoha, became President Donald J. Trump on November 8th, 2016.