At ‘Villains and Heroes’ shindig, Trump goes as self

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump, still mulling key cabinet positions, attended a lavish costume party Saturday night hosted by some of his most influential donors at their palatial Long Island mansion.

Trump, who did not sport a costume, reveled with guests at the Mercer family estate for the annual Christmas party; this year’s theme was “Villains and Heroes.” When asked what costume he was wearing, Trump — who was sporting his usual dark suit — simply pointed at himself and mouthed “me.”

An invitation to the annual December party is a coveted ticket in Republican circles, never more so than this year. Several strategists who helped engineer Trump’s upset win were attending, including incoming White House senior counselor Stephen Bannon and senior aide Kellyanne Conway. Conway was dressed as Superwoman; Bannon did not wear a costume.

Both Conway and Bannon have close ties to Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of hedge fund manager Robert Mercer. The younger Mercer became one of Trump’s leading and most influential donors and urged him to bring Bannon and Conway into the campaign in August.

Rebekah Mercer, who ran a pro-Trump Super PAC, had compared the electoral race between Trump and his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton to an “apocalyptic choice,” so the night’s “Villains and Heroes” theme was perhaps fitting.

The “Owl’s Nest” estate was decorated with depictions of good and evil, such as angels and devils. Even the party staffers’ costumes were split: some were dressed as Hell’s Angels motorcyclists, some as Salvation Army volunteers.

Trump’s sojourn to the party was his only expedition on Saturday outside the Manhattan skyscraper that bears his name. He is expected to lay low the remainder of the weekend, before returning to transition meetings in New York on Monday and the next stop of his “thank you” tour in North Carolina on Tuesday.