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Salon
Salon
Politics
Sarah K. Burris

Trump begs at Mar-a-Lago: "Please clap"

Donald Trump Jeb Bush
Donald Trump | Mar-A-Lago Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images

The 2016 election had barely started when former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) was desperately begging a crowd of supporters, "please clap." Now, in 2022, former President Donald Trump appears to be the one desperate for applause.

In a video posted by ParlerTakes, a video from Mar-a-Lago shows the former president entering the dining area to applause. He then appears to wave on the audience, asking that they give him more. He then flashes a double thumbs-up. 

It isn't the first time the story is being told. Some of the many books that were published about Trump's post-presidency have told stories about him begging for a standing ovation when he walks into the dining room. This video doesn't appear to show anyone standing. 

Phil Rucker and Carol Leonig reported in their book I Alone Can Fix It describes the scene as Trump holds court in the dining room.

"As more dinner guests with plates began queuing up in the room to visit the raw bar and other food stations, Trump finally decided it was time to wrap up our conversation. He invited us to stay for dinner and instructed the maître d' to find us a table. Then the former president stepped onto the veranda and into the last of the day's sun. Right on cue, the dinner guests immediately stood up at their tables to applaud him. He took it all in, smiling," the book said. "Just another Wednesday night at Mar-a-Lago. And off he went, table by table, to greet friends."

"When you're down there talking to him, there's a distorted reality he's presenting, not only to us, but the dozens of guests that come to Mar-A-Lago every night for dinner and give him a standing ovation at sunset, and then you leave Mar-A-Lago and you realize what's happening in the world the reality is so different from what he's trying to tell his supporters," Leonig described after the book came out. 

The video was quickly ridiculed by those who saw it. You can see the video, responses and a reminder of the Jeb Bush video below:

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