Trump spent one of every five days in 2019 at a golf club, including the last day of the year: Report
President Donald Trump's penchant for golfing is well-known to the world, and although he often chastized his predecessor Barack Obama for playing golf while in office, the Republican himself has spent at least 252 days at a Trump golf club and 333 days at a Trump property as President, a CNN report states.
Trump closed the year with a visit to his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach for the 12th time during his Florida vacation. The president, this year alone, has spent at least 86 days at a golf club despite a late start because of the government shutdown. Trump's golf outing venues include the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling (Virginia), his golf club in Bedminister (New Jersey), Trump National Doral outside Miami and Trump International Doonbeg in Ireland.
Trump, during a 2016 campaign stop in New Hampshire, had slammed Obama for playing golf. "I mean he's played more golf than most people on the PGA Tour, this guy," he said of the former president. "What is it, over 300 rounds? Hey, look, it's good. Golf is fine. But always play with leaders of countries and people that can help us! Don't play with your friends all the time." According to Mark Knoller of CBS News, Obama had played 333 rounds of golf during his eight years in office.
The president, during a Christmas Eve call with US service members, had told that he "pretty much" works at Mar-a-Lago too. However, Trump has been known to mix business with pleasure at his golf properties and a recent report of the president's trips to his properties has raised questions about the federal government spending money at his properties.
A recent report said that Trump's golf hobby has cost American taxpayers an estimated $115 million in travel and security expenses. The amount is equivalent to nearly 287 years of presidential salary, which Trump frequently mentions he does not take. Of that amount, hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars have gone into his own cash registers as the White House staff, Secret Service agents and other administration officials generally stay and eat at his hotels and golf courses, according to the Huffington Post.
Trump prefers to take trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for golfing. It was reported that the exact amount of his golf trips cannot be determined because the White House has refused to reveal how many Trump aides stay at his properties during such visits and how much are they charged at his resorts.
Jordan Libowitz from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said of the president: "It’s becoming abundantly clear that Donald Trump uses his presidency as a way to put money into his pocket. The issue isn’t that he likes golf. The issue is that he has spent a huge amount of his presidency making promotional appearances at his struggling golf courses and leaving taxpayers to foot the bill."