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Donald Trump is moving to Florida. Doesn't he live in the White House in Washington DC? What does it mean that he is moving?

Also, do we know why?

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2 Answers 2

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What does it mean that he is moving?

He changed his permanent residence from Trump Tower in NYC to Mar-a-Lago in Florida, not actually moving. The change was made September 27th.

Also, do we know why?

For financial, political and legal reasons.

The politics behind Trump's move to Florida are crystal clear, November 2, 2019.

Trump has extremely good financial, political and legal reasons to get out of New York: his move is a logical, long-term answer to an immediate set of problems.

The transaction itself is straightforward. Trump will almost certainly continue to own his suite atop Trump Tower, and will continue to move between New York and his Mar-a-Lago resort. But by designating Mar-a-Lago as his domicile -- in legal terms, "his true, fixed, permanent home"-- Trump is announcing he will spend most of each year in Florida (when not in D.C.), making him a resident of the Sunshine State for purposes of voting and paying state taxes.

By doing so, Trump joins a large exodus of New Yorkers who regularly relocate to Florida for the sunny weather and lower taxes.

Florida is considered a swing state. Being a resident may give him more votes.

In 2016, Trump carried Florida's 29 electoral votes over Hillary Clinton by a slim 1.2% margin, only about 113,000 votes out of 9.4 million cast.

...

The third incentive for Trump to get out of New York is legal. The state Attorney General and the Manhattan District Attorney have launched multiple probes of Trump's businesses, charities, political committees and personal conduct. ...

Those inquiries won't vanish for Trump, simply with his moving away, but he knows that New York's overwhelmingly Democratic officials -- including the state attorney general and Manhattan district attorney -- have no incentive to take it easy on him.


Trump lives in the White House. So, why is he moving to Florida?, Updated 8:55 a.m. ET Nov. 2, 2019.

Trump criticized his political opponents in his “Farewell, New York” tweet Thursday suggesting his decision may have had to do with his treatment by political leaders in the city and state.

“Despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year,” he tweeted. “I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state. Few have been treated worse.”


See also Manhattan district attorney subpoena.

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    @BobE - 6 month + 1 day for most people. Those elected to Congress or, now, the president, or serve in the military, must not have any other residence that would be considered permanent.
    – Rick Smith
    Nov 3, 2019 at 3:15
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    @Burt - Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano changes address to Florida to avoid New York taxes he says cost him nearly $14,000 a day.
    – Rick Smith
    Nov 3, 2019 at 9:27
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    @user47014 No. Plus, the things that they are presumably investigating (e.g. his businesses) are not moving.
    – Joe
    Nov 3, 2019 at 13:57
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    Does his change in legal address really impact any of the lawsuits/legal investigations against him, other than logistics? Surely none of the cases against him would be dropped or invalidated simply because of his "move" to Florida.
    – Anthony X
    Nov 3, 2019 at 15:45
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    @AnthonyX - Trump considers some high-level New York Democrats to be part of the "witch hunt" against him. It won't change the past (current cases), but may affect the future by preventing them from pursuing further _harassment _.
    – Rick Smith
    Nov 3, 2019 at 16:20
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After the lady who built the Mar-a-Lago residence died, she willed it to the government for use as a "winter White House". The US President of the time declined to use it as such, and returned it to the family estate, leading to it eventually being bought by Donald Trump.

After Donald Trump won the US presidency, he decided to put it back to this use for this purpose. As such, it should not be surprising that he would list it as his place of residence.

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    Can you please add a reference to support this answer?
    – Alexei
    Nov 4, 2019 at 9:02
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    Wikipedia agrees
    – OrangeDog
    Nov 4, 2019 at 11:52
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    wiki quotes NYT July 16, 1981: "On her death in 1973 at age 86, Mrs. Post left the estate to the Federal Government to serve as a winter White House for Presidents and visiting heads of state. But Mar-a-Lago, lying directly in the flight path of the Palm Beach airport, proved too difficult to secure. And as the cost of keeping up the property soared beyond the funds Mrs. Post had provided, the Government returned it to the Post Foundation by an act of Congress that became effective April 1." nytimes.com/1981/07/16/garden/post-home-for-sale-for-20.html
    – BurnsBA
    Nov 4, 2019 at 13:23
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    I'm not sure that this is the right answer. January 2017 Trump called mar-a-lago the winter white house, but it's only just now that he's making it his primary place of residence. This answer doesn't really address op's question about moving, especially just under three years after announcing the winter white house.
    – BurnsBA
    Nov 4, 2019 at 13:29

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