Where Did Trump Spend His Last Thanksgiving As President?

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are expected to spend the Thanksgiving holiday at the White House for the first time since he took office in 2017.

The president and the first lady were initially scheduled to travel to Palm Beach and spend the holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Fox News reported. However, the first family decided to remain at the White House instead, Melania Trump’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, confirmed in a Nov. 18 tweet.

“Holiday Scheduling Update: The @POTUS & @flotus will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday at the @WhiteHouse this year,” the post read.

In 2017 and 2018, the president spent the holiday at the Mar-a-Lago Club before visiting the local Coast Guard station. In 2019, he also stayed at his club, and from there, flew to Afghanistan to visit American troops.

Trump will continue the tradition of calling troops this year, with a scheduled video teleconference with members of the military, Fox News noted.

On Wednesday evening, the White House press secretary released President Trump’s annual Thanksgiving proclamation where he called for Americans to “gather” for the holiday.

“On Thanksgiving Day, we thank God for the abundant blessings in our lives. As we gather with family and friends to celebrate this season of generosity, hope, and gratitude, we commemorate America’s founding traditions of faith, family, and friendship, and give thanks for the principles of freedom, liberty, and democracy that make our country exceptional in the history of the world,” the proclamation read.

“I encourage all Americans to gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our many blessings,” it continued.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving to prevent a further spread of the novel coronavirus. Public health experts also advised against gathering and warned that the holiday could be “the mother of all superspreader events,” CNN reported.

The United States has recorded more than 12.8 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in March. The country also leads the world for the most number of coronavirus-related deaths, which is now at 263,413, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.