Donald Trump Said He Had High-Level Meetings All Day Saturday, Then Went Golfing
Donald Trump’s official White House schedule for Saturday was packed with what the president claimed were high-level meetings, but apparently, Trump had another plan in mind — spending four hours going golfing at his Florida resort.
Trump made his seventh visit this weekend to his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida, trips that have generated quite a bit of controversy after Trump’s continued criticism of Barack Obama’s travel costs during his tenure as president.
“President Obama’s vacation is costing taxpayers millions of dollars—-Unbelievable!” Trump tweeted in 2012.
The trips to Mar-A-Lago cost a reported $3 million each and have raised concerns about security vulnerabilities.
Donald Trump also appears to have reversed on a common criticism of Obama, namely how much the Democratic president spent golfing. Trump tweeted a number of times about Obama going golfing, but now has already made 10 visits to his Trump-branded golf courses in only his first eight weeks as president.
Trump made another visit on Saturday. Though his official White House schedule said that Trump would be in meetings and high-level phone calls during the day on Saturday, the CEO of the news site NewsMax blew Trump’s cover by tweeting a picture of Trump hitting the links at his golf course.
.@realDonaldTrump with @pgflaherty and Max Kramer at Trump International Golf West Palm today! pic.twitter.com/R0gebVs1fX
— Christopher Ruddy (@ChrisRuddyNMX) March 18, 2017
“According to a reporter who was in Florida with the president, Trump spent more than four hours at his golf club before returning to Mar-a-Lago, where he is expected to have dinner with Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter,” a report from The Hill noted.
As White House correspondents have noted, the White House is apparently taking great lengths to keep Trump’s frequent golf trips a secret.
Press pool at Trump Intl Golf Club told the president having meetings and phone calls there. This WH reluctant to report when he golfs.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 18, 2017
WH press aide wouldn't say if @POTUS played golf. Told of Twitter photo of @POTUS in golf attire, she said he may have "hit a few balls."
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 18, 2017
Golfing is not an unusual habit for a president, and in fact, all in recent history have taken to the links as a pastime. But Trump appears to be taking more criticism given his past stance on Barack Obama and his claims that he would have no times for golf or travel as president. When Trump was still a candidate vying for the Republican nomination, he bragged that he would be too busy with work to ever leave the White House.
“I would rarely leave the White House because there’s so much work to be done,” Trump told a reporter in 2015 (via Think Progress).
“I would not be a president who took vacations. I would not be a president that takes time off… You don’t have time to take time off.”
Trump today made his 10th trip a Trump-owned golf course in 8 weeks as president.
Here are his previous tweets about presidents and golf: pic.twitter.com/VTV5hAVx20
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 18, 2017
But Trump has spent the majority of weekends at his Mar-A-Lago resort already, and his family members have racked up even more costs with Melania and son Barron living in New York and his adult children drawing Secret Service details for their business trips and vacations.
Donald Trump’s frequent trips to the golf course and to his Florida resort have generated even more controversy given his calls for greater fiscal responsibility in his proposed budget, with deep cuts to many agencies including cutting funding to PBS and other arts-related groups as well as Meals on Wheels.
[Featured Image by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images]
