Trump's New Year's Eve party always an affair to remember. Here are 9 notable past galas

Fireworks? Champagne toasts? Forget it, the top ticket for a New Year's Eve bash in Palm Beach County is Donald Trump's annual soiree at Mar-a-Lago.

The elegant, splashy gala at the former president's Palm Beach club has been a staple of the winter season on the island for decades, drawing celebrities and political stars alike.

In recent years, especially throughout Trump's presidency and thereafter, it's also been a media event with the press staking out the red carpet checking on the who's who of arrivals, and then peppering Trump with questions as he and Melania Trump entered the ballroom for the evening's year-end festivities.

Here is a look back at nine notable past New Year's Eves at Mar-a-Lago.

2022: A post-presidential Trump campaign announcement ahead of a roller coaster year

In past years, Hollywood celebrities have attended Trump's annual A-list New Year's Eve party at the Palm Beach club. But last year, the most notable, high-profile figures attending the opulent black tie-and-long gown gala were from the former president's political orbit, including pollster Dick Morris, legal adviser Rudy Giuliani and pillow maker Mike Lindell.

Trump's second-oldest son, Eric, and his wife, Lara, attended as well. However, it did not appear two other adult children who figured prominently in Trump's political endeavors, Donald Jr. and daughter Ivanka, were at the event.

Trump, who declared his 2024 White House candidacy in November, spoke briefly to the media as he and Melania made their way into the ballroom.

Trump said he hoped the Russia-Ukraine war "will get straightened out very quickly" and said he is bullish about his campaign going into 2023, adding he had received some poll numbers that looked "fantastic," but offered no details. He also sounded familiar themes.

"We need a strong border and we need it now," he said, and then added: "We also have to bring back the economy ... with inflation destroying our country."

2021: Trump skips the New Year's Eve festivities a week before Jan. 6 violence at U.S. Capitol

On New Year's Eve 2020, the then-president hastily announced a mid-morning departure and return to Washington on Air Force One. No reason was given.

The Jan. 6 hearings shed light on why, with Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue saying a "desperate" Trump rushed back early from Mar-a-Lago that day for an "emergency meeting" at the White House, said committee member and former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger.

What followed, the committee said citing witness testimony, was a brazen and outlandish scheme to fire Rosen and replace him with Jeffrey Clark. Trump had appointed Clark to the Justice Department as acting head of the Civil Division, a lower-level position, but the committee said Clark was willing to do Trump's bidding.

That plan failed when Rosen, Donoghue and Trump's own White House counsels pushed back hard and warned firing the top Justice officials would be followed by mass resignations, sparking chaos and damaging the department's credibility.

It was the second time in his presidency that Trump was a no-show on New Year's Eve. In 2018, the president stayed at the White House amid what would be a record-long, 35-day federal government shutdown.

Trump's New Year's Eve: Who was there (and who wasn't) at Mar-a-Lago party?

2019: Things looked good for Trump and no one mentioned 'pandemic'

Things looked great for Trump as he spoke to reporters on his way into the 2019 New Year's Eve affair.

The economy was humming along, his re-election prospects looked promising and he expected to be acquitted in his impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate. Trump appeared in a good mood and even turned gracious toward the media.

Trump wished the press a happy 2020 and asked them to be “honorable.”

“If you’re honorable, I am going to win the election by a lot,” he said. “If you’re not honorable, I’m just going to win by a little. So I’d rather you be honorable.”

No one asked about a coronavirus pandemic, however.

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2016: Sylvester Stallone the NYE headliner: Was he under consideration for a Trump appointment?

Sylvester Stallone, who lives in Palm Beach now but was a Miami resident at the time, was among the some 800 partygoers for the bash as Trump enjoyed his president-elect status.

Celebrities who have attended the party in previous years included singer Vanessa Williams, TV show host Regis Philbin, design guru Martha Stewart and singer Rod Stewart, another Palm Beach resident.Trump spokesman Sean Spicer had said about that 2016 party that music executive Quincy Jones would attend, something Jones' spokesman later refuted, telling Variety that Jones would spend the holiday at home with his family.

Stallone's invite sparked speculation. At the time, the Los Angeles Times had reported that Trump might be mulling appointing Stallone to a position with the National Endowment for the Arts. Stallone later told BuzzFeed he would prefer to be involved in veterans issues.

Social media chatter raised criticism of the event saying it could open the door paid access to the soon-to-be POTUS.

But Hope Hicks, incoming White House director of strategic communications, dismissed that idea."The transition is not concerned about the appearance of a conflict," Hicks told Politico. "This is an annual celebratory event at the private club, like others that have continued to occur since the election. Additionally, the president cannot and does not have a conflict."

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2010: Tiger Woods a no-show but an impersonator as well the golfer's girlfriend attend

The Palm Beach Post reported that Trump invited golfer Tiger Woods and the acclaimed golfer's girlfriend, Rachel Uchitel, to the private club's New Year's Eve party.

Woods, however, was a no-show while Uchitel showed up with a Mar-a-Lago member, the Post reported at the time.

"Tiger? A no-show. So Trump's people did the next best thing. They hired Al Smith Jr., an Orlando Tiger impersonator," the Post report on Jan. 5, 2011 read.

Trump said he had no role in Smith's attendance.

"I didn't hire him," Trump told the Post when asked if he didn't worry he'd antagonize Woods after having been one of the only high-profile supporters of the golfer. "I'm not the party planner."

Trump then pointed out there were plenty of celebrities the gala, including Stewart and Philbin.

"People came up to me to say that the Rod Stewart and Regis impersonators were great but that the Tiger guy was so-so," Trump added in that interview. "I don't think they realized Rod and Regis were the real ones."

2006: Caviar, seafood bar and vodka slide. But no Rosie O'Donnell?

Before he took on the nation's political elite and deep state, Trump crossed swords with celebrities. And as a harbinger of what was to come, sometimes he did so over politics.

Such was the case 17 years ago. That year's gala featured a Las Vegas-style bash with showgirl dancers and a culinary line-up serving caviar, a seafood bar, a vodka slide, followed by four courses, including truffled ravioli, filet of beef and lobster, and closed out with a breakfast buffet.

All for just $500 a person. A fireworks show was free for those standing way outside the club's grounds.

But the Post reported that Rosie O'Donnell would unlikely be present among the celebrities owing to her ongoing feud with Trump, who actually sided with O'Donnell for her criticism of the war in Iraq.

2004: NYE gala inaugurates Donald J. Trump ballroom at Mar-a-Lago

The massive ballroom at Mar-a-Lago, where Trump announced both his 2024 campaign in November 2022 and decried the first set of felony charges against him in April 2022, was inaugurated on New Year's Eve 2004. The $35 million facility is a rare addition to the historic 1926 property and sports 17 glittering chandeliers.

The end-of-year gala was a dry run of sorts for the wedding of Trump and the future first lady on Jan. 22, 2025. That celebration was attended by former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Trump's eventual political rival and nemesis, Hillary Clinton.

Later in 2004, the Post reported at the time, singers Gloria Estefan, Diana Ross and Tony Bennett were to perform there.

2000: Trump talked business, especially golf business

The going rate for tickets was $1,000 per couple to dine on lobster and caviar and listen to Taylor Dayne rock out under a big tent.

Trump chatted with golf course designer Jim Fazio about a couple of modifications to his golf course in West Palm Beach. Other guests included comedian Judy Tenuta.

"I'm trying to do a combination of Katherine Harris with the hair and Yoko Ono," Tenuta, wearing a red silk gown, told the Post. "Do you think it works?"

1999: Speculation of Trump presidential run occluded by news of eventual split with girlfriend

Conventional wisdom had Trump running as a third-ticket presidential candidate under the Reform Party label. That did not happen.

But just after the New Year's Eve gala that year, Trump's New York office confirmed that he and then-girlfriend Melania Knauss were going their separate ways.

"Donald has incredible love and respect for Melania, and who knows what ultimately will happen," Trump assistant Norma Foerderer told the Post.

In November, Trump, who was 53 at the time, said he and Melania, then a 27-year-old fashion model, could be married "in 24 hours."

The couple would get back together again.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trumps New Years Eve parties: Memorable Mar-a-Lago galas in Palm Beach