Donald Trump’s New Year’s party sounded like the saddest little gathering in history

Donald Trump rang in the New Year with a few political cronies and Mar-a-Lago guests.

Gone are the days when celebs and influential names rubbed shoulders with Trump at his annual New Year’s Eve bash at the Florida resort.

This year, Trump’s legal advisor Rudy Giuliani, pillow manufacturer Mike Lindell and pollster Dick Morris were the biggest names on the guest list.

The former president’s second-oldest son, Eric, and his wife were also among the hundreds of people in attendance at the event.  However, his other children, previously prominent figures in Trump’s political campaigns, seemingly skipped the event. 

Trump’s oldest son Donald Trump Jr and daughter Ivanka were nowhere to be seen, according to The Palm Beach Post.

At the event the former president, who announced his 2024 presidential run in November, briefly spoke about some of his key policy concerns for the future. 

Donald Trump said he hoped the Russia-Ukraine war will get “straightened out very quickly” and claimed to have received some poll numbers about his 2024 presidential bid that looked “fantastic”. 

“We need a strong border and we need it now,” he said, adding: “We also have to bring back the economy … with inflation destroying our country.”

Notably, he remained silent when questioned about calls from Florida governor Ron DeSantis – once floated as a running mate, and now his likely rival for the Republican 2024 nomination – for an investigation of COVID-19 vaccines, a legacy from Trump’s term in the White House. 

Trump also didn’t comment on whether he supported a national abortion ban, which has been a conservative rallying point after Roe v Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June. 

He walked away when he was questioned about the 6 January Capitol Riots, according to The Palm Beach Post. 

This week, the US will mark the the second anniversary of the deadly violence that saw a mob of white supremacists and rioters storm the Capitol building in a bid to thwart the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. 

Last year, on the first anniversary of the violence, Donald Trump called on “MAGA nation” to “rise up” and oppose the Biden administration. The language used in his statement harkened back to posts Trump made on social media before the Capitol Riots and remarks he made at a rally on the day of the insurgence.