Trump works so hard he can't even EAT, claim aides after report says he spends all morning watching TV
The White House defended President Donald Trump on Sunday, April 27, amid reports that he often stays in his bedroom till noon, by stating that the Republican's schedule is so packed that he often has to skip lunch to get work done.
The statement came hours after the New York Times released a report on Sunday, portraying the commander-in-chief as someone who is isolated at home alone in the residential wing of the White House and spends significant hours watching television news channels to look out for any criticism of his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
The NYT, in the feature, described Trump as grappling to come up with an effective response to the Covid-19 crisis, and the issues surrounding reopening the economy amid the pandemic. The president, at the same time, has also been worried about his November re-election, according to the outlet.
Shortly after the release of the report, Trump unleashed an angry flurry of tweets, claiming he works from early in the morning till late at night. The NYT report claimed that the Republican "angrily" eats hamburgers and drink Diet Cokes while in bed.
Trump aides, in an apparent response to the NYT article, attempted to present their own version on the issue by speaking to the New York Post. White House staffers refuted the NYT coverage while talking to New York Post, and stated that the president remains very busy and it is not uncommon for him to make up to 60 calls per day, leaving him very little time to eat, which is often pushed late into the evening.
The staffers claimed that the Republican sometimes misses lunch altogether because of work.
"There are times when lunch isn't even a thought," one official told the NY Post. "A lot of time there's either no time for lunch or there is 10 minutes for lunch." While the new White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows stated that the biggest concern he has right now is to ensure that Trump eats.
"I can tell you that the biggest concern I have as a new chief of staff is making sure he gets some time to get a quick bite to eat," Meadows said. "I can tell you that he will go back in and have a lunch just off the Oval Office and more times than not it is interrupted by several phone calls. If he gets more than 10 minutes of time in a given day I haven't seen in the five weeks I've been here."
The NYT article, however, claimed that the president's mood is "sour" these days and he spends all morning watching TV coverage of his handling of the coronavirus crisis. The piece also noted how Trump "rarely" attends the coronavirus taskforce meetings before briefing the press.
The president also defended himself on April 27 as he tweeted, writing: "I work from early in the morning until late at night, haven’t left the White House in many months (except to launch Hospital Ship Comfort) in order to take care of Trade Deals, Military Rebuilding etc, and then I read a phony story in the failing @nytimes
about my work schedule and eating habits, written by a third rate reporter who knows nothing about me. I will often be in the Oval Office late into the night & read & see that I am angrily eating a hamburger & Diet Coke in my bedroom. People with me are always stunned. Anything to demean!"
Trump, amid the coronavirus crisis, has largely remained in the White House as businesses and travel across the country have come to a temporary halt in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.