Vanilla Ice performs to hundreds of maskless partygoers at Mar-a-Lago's New Year's Eve bash

Footage from inside Mar-a-Lago’s New Year’s Eve bash showed Vanilla Ice performing to a crowd of hundreds of maskless partygoers as Don Trump Jr. boasted on social media that the rapper gave him a birthday shoutout. 

Smartphone video posted online by the president’s eldest son showed dozens of revelers packed in on the dancefloor – not social distancing or wearing masks – as Ice performed his hit song ‘Ice, Ice Baby’ and Wild Cherry’s ‘Play That Funky Music’.

Trump Jr. told the camera ‘that was pretty awesome’ and wrote that the star gave him a ‘birthday shoutout’ as he turned 43 on New Year’s Eve. 

‘Ok this is amazing. Vanilla Ice is playing the Mar-a-Lago New Years Eve party. As a child of the 90s you can’t fathom how awesome that is. Beyond that I got the birthday shoutout so that’s pretty amazing,’ he wrote.   

Also at the event was Trump’s personal attorney and the man who spearheaded much of his election legal battle Rudy Giuliani who was spotted in separate footage slow dancing up close with a woman to Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’.

This comes after Giuliani was hospitalized with COVID-19 in early December and given a cocktail of drugs, sparking outrage that Trump’s friend – who repeatedly shunned masks – skipped the line to get treatment that is in short supply. 

The president’s Palm Beach social club played host to the huge New Year’s Eve gala which disregarded the coronavirus guidelines but in place by his own administration as cases, deaths and hospitalizations soar to record levels across America.  

Guests also appeared to flout local Palm Beach County guidelines that masks must be worn inside all businesses and establishments.  

Absent from the celebrations was President Donald Trump who, in a last-minute change of plans, returned to Washington DC with First Lady Melania to try to resolve the highly-anticipated COVID relief bill. 

But the party went on without him and hundreds of partygoers packed inside the private club where tickets cost $1,000 per person.  

As well as the president’s eldest son, many of his family members turned out for the shindig including Trump Jr’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eric Trump and his wife Lara, Tiffany Trump, Representative Matt Gaetz and vocal Trump ally and businessman Mike Lindell.

Guests danced to performances from Vanilla Ice, two members of the Beach Boys and Teri Nunn from the band Berlin while dining on a menu that included ‘Mr. Trump’s Wedge Salad,’ cheese tortellini and a Wagyu beef entree.

It is not clear how many people attended exactly but more than 500 people had made reservations, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Hundreds of people typically attend the bash. The main ballroom can hold 700 people and there are smaller ballrooms available to add to the crowd size. 

Tickets to the event were going for $1,000 each, one person attending the gala told DailyMail.com. A person has to be a member of Mar-a-Lago or a guest of a member in order to attend. 

Earlier in the evening, the president’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr, who turned 43 today, and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle shared a video message wishing everyone a happy new year from the venue.

‘W
e just wanted to wish you guys an incredible new year. Obviously 2020 has been a little bit nuts and rather crazy, I don’t think anyone’s going to be upset about moving on from this one,’ Don Jr, said.     

The New Year’s Eve gala is an annual tradition that pre-dates Trump’s time in the White House. Last year, Trump walked the red carpet with his wife Melania and their son Barron.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner also attended with their children. Donald Trump Jr. was accompanied by one of his sons and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle. Eric Trump and Lara Trump were also there as were Tiffany Trump and her boyfriend Michael Boulos.

Prominent Trump friends like Rudy Giuliani have also made an appearance. 

As the president returned to White House Thursday, he released a New Year’s video message claiming that ‘everyone is calling’ to thank him for the vaccine. 

Trump and first lady Melania Trump held hands as they walked from Marine One toward the White House with the president splitting off from his wife to go to the Oval Office.  

Trump also touted his accomplishments with Operation Warp Speed in a bizarre video he shared on Twitter Thursday afternoon.   

‘Over and over again, we were told it would be impossible to deliver a vaccine by the end of the year,’ Trump said in the five-minute clip. 

‘All of the experts said, ‘Absolutely unthinkable. Trump is exaggerating. It can’t happen.’ And we did it,’ the president said. ‘Years from now, they’ll be talking about it. They’ll be talking about this great, great thing that we did with the vaccines.’ 

‘The world will benefit. We’ll benefit. And everybody’s calling to thank me,’ Trump added. 

‘To defeat the China virus we launched the largest mobilization since World War II. We transformed our factories to build tens of thousands of ventilators and millions and millions of masks virtually overnight,’ Trump said. 

‘Nobody thought it could be done. We ignored the experts who demanded open borders and we shut down travel from China and Europe to protect our citizens and we built the wall,’ Trump said before claiming that his administration’s pioneering of new therapies and treatments ‘saved millions of American lives’.

Trump said his administration has ‘to be remembered for what’s been done’. 

The video was released the same day Trump returned to the White House. 

Officials at the White
House did not give a reason for the return but it coincided with Trump’s fight with Congress over his veto of a major defense bill, his demand for increased COVID stimulus checks, and the January 6th electoral college certification, which Republicans plan to object. It also came amid increased tensions with Iran.