Before winning the election, Trump promised to be all about the job.
If I get elected president, I'm going to be in the White House a lot!
I'm not leaving.
But if I were in the White House, I don't think I'll ever see Turnberry again.
Because I'm going to be working for you, I'm not going to have time to go play golf and...
Well...Not Quite.
As Republicans and Democrats gathered in Annapolis. to honor Senator John McCain,
Trump left the White House for his golf course in Sterling, Virginia.
In order to get on the green, Trump has often avoided major news events that required his attention.
30 days after the inauguration, on February 11th, 2017,
Trump took his second golfing trip.
The same day, North Korea fired its first test missile since since Trump took office,
part of Kim Jung Un’s continued efforts to produce an intercontinental missile capable of sending a nuclear weapon to the U.S.
After a quick press conference where the president acknowledged the provocation,
Trump resumed hosting Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his golf resort in Florida
Six months later, on September 29, 2017,
as Puerto Rico began to grapple with the devastation of Hurricane Maria,
Trump was on his 61st golfing trip for the Presidents Cup golf tournament in Jersey City, New Jersey.
We're going to dedicate this trophy to all of those people who went through so much
that we love, apart of our great state.
At the time, approximately 90% of Puerto Rico’s population still had no power,
40% had no access to clean water
and 60% had no cell service.
Still the President headed to his private golf course before visiting the Island
-- waiting over 9 days to see the devastation firsthand.
Five months after the Trump administration withdrew from the Paris agreement to curb climate change,
190 nations convened in Bonn, Germany
to discuss plans for the implementation of the agreement on November 5, 2017 without the United States.
Instead, Trump was on his 73rd golfing trip of the year in Kasumigaseki, Japan.
On March 24, 2018, in reaction to the shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 students and teachers dead,
more than 2 million people demonstrated at March for Our Lives
the student-run action to end gun violence in America.
The president was at his Mar-a-Lago golf course for his 97th golfing trip of his presidency.
So...the protestors came to him instead.
West Palm Beach’s March for Our Lives event will make a stop just a shout away from President Trump’s Mar-a-lago estate.
Three months later, on June 24, 2018,
after the White House separated more than 2,300 children from their parents,
a result of it’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy announced in April,
Sen. Merkley tried to visit a child detention center.
The thwarted visit sparked a national uproar about the policy, which came to a head in mid-June.
But, while the backlash continued to grow, Trump made his 113th golfing trip to Trump National in Potomac Falls, VA.
On average, Trump visited a golf course every 4.7 days since his inauguration,
spending approximately 22% of his presidency on the green.
His excursions have cost taxpayers more than $76 million dollars as of September 1st, 2018.
But according to Press Secretary Sanders, the President has spent that time
developing deeper and better relationships with members of Congress
in which those relationships have helped push forward the president's agenda
Let’s hope that the time and taxpayers’ money was well spent.