The disorientating eternity that has been Donald Trump’s nascent presidency could be described as anything but par-for-course – and not only in terms of the Old Testament-grade lies and misdirection that characterise the White House’s communications. In 10 weeks, President Trump has taken no fewer than 12 golfing holidays to Mar-a-Lago, the Florida-based golfing resort he owns. Each round, according to an estimate from Politico, has cost US taxpayers in the region of $3m (£2.4m) in flights and security.
Deliciously, Trump, along with a chorus of Republicans, frequently criticised his predecessor for such playful excursions. In 2011, he tweeted: “@BarackObama played golf yesterday. Now he heads to a 10-day vacation in Martha’s Vineyard. Nice work ethic.” In August 2014, Reince Priebus, Trump’s chief of staff, wrote: “Obama’s golf outings aren’t just bad optics, they’re foolish. And voters realise that.” Even Sean Spicer, Trump’s flailing press secretary, who suggested last week that just because Trump visits Mar-a-Lago doesn’t mean that he’s playing golf there (an Instagram photograph showing the president wearing golf cleats while supposedly in meetings says otherwise), once proffered an opinion on the game. “Wish I could be on the golf course but have to work,” he wrote, in 2012, before adding: “Must be nice to be President.”
Continue reading...April 02, 2017 at 11:08AM
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from Simon Parkin
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