As the U.S. launched strikes on Iran in the early hours of Feb. 28, 2026, a rumor began spreading across social media that U.S. President Donald Trump partied at Mar-a-Lago while American bombs dropped on Iran. The claim spread alongside alleged clips from events at his Florida club and posts describing his appearance there as evidence he was "partying at Mar-a-Lago" while the war unfolded.
For instance, an Occupy Democrats' Facebook post with the claim read:
BREAKING: Leaked video shows Trump was PARTYING at Mar-a-Lago while US troops were dying overseas in a pointless war he started for no reason!
The video shows the President mingling with his fellow Epstein class members, enjoying a fancy soiree at his personal club while American soldiers paying the ultimate price for Trump's reckless and idiotic war with Iran.
He couldn't even be bothered to go to the Pentagon to oversee the war that he just started for NO reason whatsoever, instead deciding to fiddle away while the world burns.
Once we retake Congress this fall, impeachment has got to be the first thing on the agenda.
Another Facebook post stated: "While Iranian missiles rained down on American allies and U.S. personnel across at least ten countries, Donald Trump was busy shaking hands with millionaires at a $1 million-per-plate fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago resort Saturday night."
The claim, and the clips used to support it, spread across multiple platforms including Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and X.
In short, the rumor was rooted in real footage of Trump at Mar-a-Lago, but it conflates two separate moments. The U.S. began its first strikes on Iran at 1:15 a.m. ET on Feb. 28, while the ballroom clips most often shared with captions claiming Trump was "partying" as troops were "dying overseas" trace back to a charity gala held the night before. Trump did remain at Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 28, monitored the operation from the resort and later stopped by a political fundraiser there that evening.
We have reached out to the White House and the organizers of the Feb. 27 charity gala for a comment, and we will update this report if we receive a response.
What Trump did at Mar-a-Lago
U.S. Central Command said U.S. and partner forces began striking targets at 1:15 a.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 28, 2026.
The clip most commonly used to spread the claim that Trump was "partying" as troops were "dying overseas" shows him in a ballroom setting at Mar-a-Lago. In the video, Trump can be heard saying, "We gotta go work. I gotta go to work!" as "God Bless the USA" plays in the background.
The earliest instance of that video we found was posted Feb. 27 by the Instagram account @thephoenixboxinggym and later shared by other high-reach accounts. The account owner confirmed with us that they filmed the footage. Multiple other social media users also posted photos and videos from what appears to be the same event.
That date aligns with a documented event held at Mar-a-Lago the night before the strike campaign began. A charity gala hosted by the nonprofit organization Place of Hope, the "Annual Lexus Hope Bash 25 Year Jubilee," was scheduled for Feb. 27, and the organizer's listing described it as a black-tie evening beginning in the early evening.
It was unclear exactly when the circulating clips were filmed. However, the event's official schedule indicates the reception began at 6 p.m., with seating for the main program starting at 6:45 p.m., providing a rough window for when at least some of the footage could have been captured.
Therefore, that context suggests the widely shared ballroom footage dates to Feb. 27, rather than the precise moment the first strikes began early Feb. 28.
On Feb. 28, Trump remained in Florida as the operation began and unfolded. The White House posted photographs showing him monitoring the military action from a setup at Mar-a-Lago.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X that Trump "monitored the situation overnight at Mar a Lago alongside members of his national security team."
Later that same day, Trump appeared at a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. Earlier on Feb. 28, Leavitt told reporters that the president "still intends to stop by the fundraiser being held at Mar-a-Lago this evening for the Republican Party, which is more important than ever."
The Wall Street Journal, citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter, reported that Trump told advisers he "didn't want to cancel because he had to eat dinner anyway." (Snopes was not able to confirm the anonymous quote.) The outlet said he attended a Saturday night dinner fundraiser for MAGA Inc. at Mar-a-Lago and was photographed on the club's patio, describing him as "in a jovial mood throughout the event, which was set up in a space overlooking an expansive lawn at his club."
All in all, Trump attended two separate events at Mar-a-Lago over two days — one the night before the strikes began, and another after the first U.S. strikes on Iran were underway. The first was a charity gala on Feb. 27, where social media clips show him briefly appearing and dancing. The next day, after U.S. Central Command said the operation began at 1:15 a.m. ET on Feb. 28, Trump stayed at the resort, monitored developments from a makeshift setup and later "stopped by" a political fundraiser there that evening.