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Trump’s weekends in Florida include work and golf

ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Donald Trump talks to reporters on board Air Force One as he arrived to speak at his “Make America Great Again Rally” at Orlando-Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Fla., Saturday.

PALM BEACH, Fla. >> For the past three weekends, President Donald Trump has flown on Air Force One to his private Florida club, where in addition to work, he has dined with family and friends, attended parties — and played plenty of golf.

Not that long ago, Trump took issue with President Barack Obama for doing much the same. In May, Trump tweeted, “While our wonderful president was out playing golf all day, the TSA is falling apart, just like our government!”

On Sunday, Trump spent the morning at Trump International Golf Club, where he played with professional golfer Rory McIlroy. The White House at first said Trump played a few holes and did not disclose whom Trump was golfing with, but the next day a photo emerged on social media, and McIlroy told golf website nolayingup.com that he played 18 holes with Trump.

Asked if Trump played a full round with McIlroy, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “He intended to play a few holes and decided to play longer.”

During his holiday weekend in Florida, Trump and his wife, Melania, also stopped by a benefit Saturday night at Mar-a-Lago, hosted by the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He did not list the event on his public schedule, but staff confirmed his attendance after it was reported in a local newspaper. And Trump briefly appeared at a fundraiser luncheon at Mar-a-Lago Monday, the White House confirmed after pictures popped up on social media.

For years on Twitter, Trump railed against Obama for taking vacations and playing golf. As a candidate, Trump said if he won he’d probably be too busy to golf and would only play with people with whom he was looking to make deals.

On Twitter in August 2014, Trump said Obama’s motto was “If I don’t go on tax payer funded vacations & constantly fundraise then the terrorists win.”

When Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this month, the two played at two of Trump’s courses — Trump International and his course in Jupiter, Florida.

Obama was an avid golfer, though he did not play during his first few months in office, according to Mark Knoller of CBS News, who tracked his golf outings. He also took regular family trips to Martha’s Vineyard and Hawaii, but did not have private vacation homes where he routinely spent weekends.

Trump also conducted serious business over the weekend. He interviewed contenders for national security adviser, choosing Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, and attended a strategy session on how to repeal and replace Obama’s health care law.

31 responses to “Trump’s weekends in Florida include work and golf”

  1. 64hoo says:

    well there should be no complaints here since he did what nerobama did, one difference he saved taxpayers money cause he did not have to travel far.

  2. bsdetection says:

    First 30 days in office and 6 days of golf. WH staff lied about how many holes he played Sunday, but Trump’s golf partner revealed the truth in a social media post. Trump family travel costs for the first month in office equal Obama’s cost for a year. Where’s the conservative outrage?

    • skinut says:

      There won’t be any, especially from trump’s blind and dumb followers.

    • MillionMonkeys says:

      GOP business model: In the driver’s seat are the wealthy who want tax cuts and other laws favoring corporations. Sitting in their mansions at the top of the hill, they are socially as well as fiscally conservative. They’re outnumbered by middle-class Democrats, so they recruit the votes of the working class, who also tend to be socially conservative (“good ol’ American values,” “MAGA,” etc.). What the undereducated do not understand is that the advantages of the wealthy paying little or no taxes will not trickle down to them. 4 (hopefully) or 8 years from now, they’ll finally get it and abandon the GOP….and hopefully won’t forget too soon.

  3. bsdetection says:

    Trump, in August, 2016: “I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf,”

  4. bsdetection says:

    As reported by Politico, “Aides have tried to block reporters from seeing Trump play in recent weeks, even covering a basement room with black plastic bags to obscure views of what was happening on the course outside.”

    • Mito says:

      Wonder what they’re hiding?
      He must be as lousy at golf as he is as Apprentice Prezident

      • klastri says:

        He has lied about his handicap – constantly and for years. They don’t want reporters to actually see the truth.

        Lies and subterfuge are the two main pillars of his administration so far. No surprise it would extend into golf.

  5. klastri says:

    Mr. Trump complained constantly about Mr. Obama’s travel, saying that he (Trump) would rarely leave the White House, since there was so much work to do.

    So much for that pledge. Another in an endless string of Trump lies.

    Trump is now costing the U.S. taxpayer more than $30 million a month for travel expenses for himself, his wife & children. In three months, he will exceed the travel expenses for eight years of the Obama administration. His three trips to Mar-A-Lago for golf (and exposing state secrets to casual diners) have cost $11 million.

    None of his slavish supporters are going to complain, the way they did constantly when Obama was in office. Not a peep.

  6. MillionMonkeys says:

    Maybe if Trump is nice to Obama, he’ll give him Bobby Titcomb’s number. Trump would like that, a golf buddy and good times…

  7. advertiser1 says:

    Where is Keonigohan, Deepdiver, Pocho, Windward_Side, et al? To defend this, after always criticizing prior administrations for travel and vacations?

    64hoo at least made some foolish statement, as always, instead of looking at the act, it’s, “Obama did this.”

    • Mito says:

      today SA implemented a peer review tool to ensure comments are civil; therefore no comments from Keonigohan, Deepdiver, Pocho, Windward_Side, et al get published

    • sarge22 says:

      Defend what? Nobody has to. He is our President doing his job. Even working on the weekend.

      • keaukaha says:

        You call partying work? He’s having the time of his life and the taxpayers are picking up the tab. The fact is that the useless bum needs to be given his walking papers because his greatest talent is his penchant for bankruptcy.

        • keaukaha says:

          And now we know why because he stashes his money and free loads on everybody else’s money. He is the ultimate scam artist and is now ripping off the taxpayers. The damn crook brags about not paying taxes but has no problem using it.

  8. iwanaknow says:

    I thought Golf was where you do business?

  9. gmejk says:

    Didn’t everyone know it would turn out this way? “Reality” set in.

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