President Donald Trump could be on track to spend as much as triple the time former President Barack Obama did on the golf course in his first year in office – and to play more than former President George W. Bush did in eight years in office.
Trump spent Saturday at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, marking the 81st day that the President has visited one of his golf courses – and his fourth straight day at a club. A law enforcement source said Trump played with golf legend Jack Nicklaus, a longtime supporter of the President.
It is unclear, however, whether Trump golfs each day he visits a course or how many rounds he plays when he does. White House aides rarely confirm that the President is golfing, but Trump did so himself on Friday, announcing that he was playing with golfing stars Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson.
By comparison, Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his eight years in office and at this point in the first year of his term had played 26 rounds, according to Mark Knoller of CBS News, who keeps detailed statistics of presidencies.
Knoller told CNN that Bush played only 24 rounds of golf as President and stopped playing golf after October 13, 2003, after he was criticized for golfing while the nation was at war. At this point in his presidency, Bush had golfed seven times.
Many Americans – and more than a few presidents – play golf. Trump’s golf outings are notable only because he repeatedly mocked Obama for the time he spent on the golf course and said he wouldn’t have time if he were elected president.
“If I win I may never see my property – I may never see these places again,” Trump said at an August 2016 event. “But because I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go golfing, believe me. Believe me. Believe me, folks.”
CNN’s Elizabeth Landers contributed to this report.
