Hours After White House Said Donald Trump Was ‘Working Tirelessly’ On Christmas Eve, CNN Found Him Golfing
On Christmas Eve, the White House released a statement saying Donald Trump would be working tirelessly during the day with meetings and phone calls.
Hours later, CNN cameras caught Trump on the golf course. Reporter Kaitlan Collins shared pictures of his golf trip on Twitter, showing the president wearing a polo shirt and a red “Keep America Great” hat as he played a round on his company’s course. Trump and his family traveled to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to spend the holiday.
After the White House went out of its way to say President Trump had many meetings and calls today, without listing any, @petermorrisCNN got video of him on the golf course. pic.twitter.com/x3jtrUOMmH
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 24, 2020
The president’s latest trip to the links has come under intense scrutiny, given the urgency to pass a new coronavirus relief bill amid a surge in cases and deaths across the United States. Just before departing for Florida, Trump released a statement saying that the $600 direct payments included in the package were not enough, calling on lawmakers to increase that amount to $2,000. But a unanimous consent vote seeking to increase the value of relief checks failed when Republicans objected, leaving the future of the measure in doubt.
As the Guardian noted, Trump’s trip came at a difficult time when the entire package could be at risk.
“After tossing a grenade that threatens to blow up a massive Covid relief and government funding bill and force a government shutdown in the midst of a pandemic, Donald Trump was golfing on Christmas for a second straight day,” the outlet wrote.
“Failure to agree on the bill could deny checks to millions of Americans on the brink.”
Trump has long faced criticism for his frequent golf trips, especially after he had regularly attacked Barack Obama for his golfing habits and claimed during the 2016 campaign that he would not have time to go golfing if he were to win. Instead, Trump has reported visited the links far more frequently than Obama did, and nearly all of the trips have been to properties owned by his company. Critics said that this has funneled millions of dollars in taxpayer money back into his company.
The White House has also been scrutinized for what critics see as obfuscation about his schedule, often claiming he is hard at work when he is actually spending leisure time. According to The Independent, the schedule for Christmas Eve suggested that he had a busy slate of work to do.
“As the Holiday season approaches, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the American People. His schedule includes many meetings and calls,” the White House said in a statement.
