The Resort That Ran the Country

What happens when a for-profit beach club doubles as a de facto seat of the presidency? This episode explores the structural anomaly of Mar-a-Lago — from its origins as a Gilded Age winter palace to its role as a venue for nuclear strike decisions, foreign summits, and classified document storage. We trace how the property blurred the lines between private business and public power, and what that means for the Constitution's Emoluments Clause, presidential accountability, and the future of governance.