Trump presidency gets social with detailed posts, photos

WASHINGTON (AP) — There was President Donald Trump, in the middle of his Mar-a-Lago resort, conferring with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on decisions with national security implications over iceberg wedge salads. Club members snapped photos and posted them to Facebook with detailed narratives about what they were seeing.

"HOLY MOLY !!! It was fascinating to watch the flurry of activity at dinner when the news came that North Korea had launched a missile in the direction of Japan," Richard DeAgazio wrote on his public Facebook page.

Welcome to the social media presidency — and all of the security and ethical challenges it poses.

DeAgazio also posed for a photo with a man whom he said carries the "nuclear football" for the president. He's since deleted his account, but not before CNN and other news outlets wrote about an open-air situation room — Trump conducting national security business in an area accessible to the public — based on his and other social media accounts. DeAgazio did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Democrats quickly pointed to the security risks the scene at Mar-a-Lago seemed to pose. Trump spent much of his campaign hammering opponent Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server to conduct business while she was secretary of state — something Trump said was not nearly secure enough.

"I wonder if Director Comey would consider this careless," Clinton's former spokesman Brian Fallon wondered on Twitter, referring to FBI director James Comey, who investigated Clinton's emails but found no reason to charge her.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

There's also an ethical component: Mar-a-Lago memberships now cost $200,000. Some of that money makes its way back to the president, since he has stepped away from operating his businesses but not given up his financial stake. That means those who can afford it get special access to Trump, since he has dubbed Mar-a-Lago his "Winter White House" and now traveled there two weekends in a row for official duties.

After working through the details of their joint response to North Korea, the two world leaders stepped into a wedding being held on Trump's Palm Beach, Florida, property. A guest shot a minute-long video of Trump's impromptu speech, which was then shared with New York Magazine.

"I said to the prime minister of Japan, I said, 'Come on, Shinzo, let's go over and say hello," Trump says on the video. "It's an honor to be with you, and you really are a special, beautiful couple."

The groom, Carl Henry Lindner IV, is the son of the chief executive of American Financial Group. The elder Lindner gave $100,000 last fall to two super PACs supporting Trump.

At the wedding, the video showed, the president kissed the bride on the cheek and encouraged the guests to get back to dancing.

___

AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace contributed to this report.