Donald Trump has passed a personal and political milestone – spending his 100th day at a golf course since becoming the nation’s president.
The presidential motorcade of the man who frequently criticised his predecessor for playing golf, even though he did so with far less frequency, pulled into the entrance of Trump International golf course at 8.16am.
Around three hours later, Mr Trump returned to his Mar-a-Lago estate, where the previous evening he held a roundtable meeting with Republican National Committee supporters and then delivered remarks at the Republican National Committee Spring Donor Retreat Dinner.
CNN, which has been keeping a tally of the Presidential golfing habits, said Mr Trump has exclusively visited four golf clubs he owns since entering the White House – Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, and the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
It said it calculated the President had spent 36 days at the Trump International Golf Club, 40 days at his New Jersey course and 23 days at the establishment in Virginia. He had played once at his Jupiter course with professional golfers Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Brad Faxon, it said.
The network said the President had spent a total of around 25 per cent of his days since occupying the Oval Office at one of those clubs, though it noted it was difficult to say if he had played golf every time as the White House frequently refuses to confirm whether he has done so.
Such was the case on Saturday morning, when a member of the White House press pool that accompanies the President, sought to confirm whether or not he had played. “Pool did ask the White House what the President was doing at his golf course and with whom he was doing it but received no reply,” said the journalist’s report.
The journalist added: “A pool photographer captured an image showing Trump wearing a white golf shirt and red ball cap as the press vans proceeded to a parking lot on the property.”
The network said critics had faulted Mr Trump’s repeated trips to his properties, as they claim it allows him to boost the profits of the Trump Organisation and give his properties a presidential stamp of approval.
Yet most criticism has been of Mr Trump’s apparent hypocrisy, given how often he attacked Barack Obama for playing.
“Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the US, President Obama spent the day playing golf,” Mr Trump tweeted in 2014. “Worse than Carter.”
During his 2016 presidential campaign, he also vowed he would not be spending his time on the golf course.
“I’m going to be working for you,” he said at one rally. “I’m not going to have time to go play golf.”
