While the president has often been seen playing golf at Mar-a-Lago or one of his branded golf facilities, the shutdown has kept him off the course since November 25—his longest stretch without a golf outing since taking office.
It’s been 50 days since President Donald Trump has hit the links, marking his longest stretch without a golf outing since taking office, NBC News reported. The government shutdown is at least partially to blame—the president’s planned holiday break at Mar-a-Lago was cancelled as a result of the standoff, meaning Trump has now spent much of the last seven weeks at the White House in the midst of Washington’s winter weather and the past weekend’s significant snowfall.
Golf is typically a staple in the president’s weekend routine, but the last time he teed it up was on November 25, at the end of his Thanksgiving vacation in West Palm Beach, Fla., NBC News reported.
Beyond what he’s dubbed the “Southern White House,” the president also frequently spends time on the golf course at his Bedminster, N.J., property in the summer and fall, NBC News reported. During the warmer months in Washington, Trump often makes weekend trips to his golf club in nearby Virginia.
Since the start of his administration, Trump has visited self-branded golf properties more than 160 times, NBC News reported. It’s not always clear when he is playing a round of golf, though, because the White House doesn’t normally acknowledge or confirm that is how the president is spending his time.
In the past, Trump has called the sport his “primary form of exercise.” But he is unlikely to golf again until the longest shutdown in history gets resolved or he decides to go to Florida—whichever comes first, NBC News reported.
During his current golf-free stretch, Trump has traveled to Iraq and Germany for brief visits with soldiers, as well as a day trip to the border in Texas, NBC News reported. On January 14, he went to Louisiana to speak at the farm bureau convention.
As a candidate, Trump frequently criticized his predecessor for playing too many rounds of golf. “Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf. Worse than Carter,” he tweeted in 2014.
Shortly after the December lapse in funding, NBC News reported, the president promised in a campaign e-mail: “When our beautiful country’s national security is at stake, I will NEVER take a vacation.”
With both sides dug in and deadlocked on any shutdown solution, Trump’s golf game also seems stalled indefinitely, NBC News noted.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.