Trump’s holiday routine: Buy marble, capture Maduro

US President Donald Trump capped off the holidays with an unprecedented attack on Venezuela, leading a surprise grab operation targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolas ‍Maduro.

Saturday’s dramatic mission capped off a winter vacation to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida; it was filled with an unusual mix of activities that became strangely typical for an unconventional president.

Trump, for example, spent Thursday night on Truth Social delivering messages on an eclectic array of topics, none of which had anything to do with the South American country.

He wrote that the United States was “locked in and ready” and ready to assist protesters in Iran if they were attacked by the government in Tehran. The 79-year-old president also treated his 11.2 million Truth Social followers to a picture of a bald eagle apparently killed by a windmill, assuring them in a separate post that it was “PERFECTLY HEALTHY.”

On Friday, less than 24 hours before his mission to Venezuela, Trump spent nearly an hour examining marble and onyx for the White House ballroom at an Italian stone importer on a sandy stretch of Lake Worth Beach. Onlookers were left stunned as the “Beast’s” presidential limousine snaked through narrow roads lined with strip malls and trailer parks for a shopping trip.

Since arriving at Mar-a-Lago in mid-December for a trip that ended Sunday, Trump’s days have been “a dazzling mix of geopolitical affairs, visits from foreign leaders and glitzy social events like a black-tie gala on New Year’s Eve packed with Palm Beach socialites.” No development in the last few days has further underlined this juxtaposition.

Supporters see a strong manager who can juggle multiple tasks and interests. Opponents say that while his administration is preoccupied with crucial matters, such as preparing to attack a sovereign nation, it is easily distracted and sometimes focused on trivial matters.

On New Year’s Eve, with hundreds of military assets already on standby and awaiting orders to capture Maduro, Trump sarcastically celebrated the news on Truth Social that George and Amal Clooney — both critics of the U.S. president — had received French citizenship.

Hours later, during the gala at Mar-a-Lago, Trump invited artist Vanessa Horabuena on stage to paint a painting of Jesus Christ. He later auctioned off the painting, which depicts a woman in a top hat and a slim man in a modified black tie, for US$2.75 million ($4.11 million). President, the revenue goes to St. He said he would go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

Leading up to his Venezuela mission, Trump also had his highest-profile architectural passion project on his mind: the new US$400 million ($598 million) White House ballroom. The effort has faced harsh criticism from Democrats and environmentalists, in part because it involves demolishing a significant portion of the executive mansion.

A White House official told reporters on Friday that Trump purchased marble and onyx for the ballroom at his own expense, without providing further details.

“I’m building a magnificent, big, beautiful ballroom that the country wants, that the White House has wanted for 150 years,” Trump said, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who went to Florida to meet with the US president last week.

Trump stepping out days later to see marble options — even as one of the most significant U.S. military operations ever in Latin America loomed — wasn’t exactly a surprise for a president who has long been obsessed with white stone.

During his first term in office, Trump’s appointees on the architectural committee demanded that more marble be added to the renovation of the Federal Reserve in Washington. This demand, floated by the media in 2025, gained renewed traction as Trump frequently criticized Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for the cost of this renewal.

After visiting a marble importer on Friday, Trump headed to the golf course, as he does almost every day while in Florida. In the evening, the Chinese ambassador met with former Senator David Perdue.

Within hours, the plan to capture Maduro was put into action.