PALM BEACH — President Donald Trump plans to return to Mar-a-Lago for Easter weekend — raising the question of whether he'll disrupt his normal South Florida Sunday routine of golf at his Trump International Golf Club to attend church.
Trump has been in Palm Beach on six Sundays as president and visited his nearby Trump International Golf Club in unincorporated West Palm Beach on all six of them.
Trump has played golf an estimated 14 times as president, according to a Palm Beach Post analysis. The White House usually doesn’t reveal exactly what Trump does when he spends three or four hours at his club wearing a golf shirt and cap.
Trump's time on the golf course has become a touchy topic for the White House because Trump was a frequent critic of former President Barack Obama's golf habit.
“I’m going to be working for you. I’m not going to have time to go play golf,” Trump said at one campaign rally in Virginia last August.
Obama golfed 333 times as president, according to Mark Knoller of CBS News. That's a rate of once every 8.8 days he was in office.
April 11 is the 82nd day of Trump’s presidency. His 14 golf outings average out to one per 5.9 days in office.
All 14 of Trump’s golf outings as president have been on Saturdays and Sundays. All have been at Trump-branded courses. That includes 11 visits to Trump International in unincorporated West Palm Beach, which is a 10- or 15-minute motorcade ride from Mar-a-Lago. He’s also golfed once at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter and twice at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va.
Here’s a rundown of 14 times when evidence strongly suggests President Trump was playing golf:
Feb. 4 – Arrived at Trump International Golf Club at 9:33 a.m., left at 2:05 p.m. wearing golf hat and golf shirt.
Feb. 5 — Arrived at Trump International at 9:27 a.m., left at 2 p.m. wearing golf hat and golf shirt. According to a pool report that day, "the White House shares that while at the Trump International Golf Club, he has had meetings and may play a few holes of golf."
Feb. 11 — Arrived at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter at 9:26 a.m. with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Also joined on the course by two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els. Trump and Abe left the club after playing 18 holes at about 1:30 p.m. Trump and Abe then visited Trump International and, according to a New York Times report, played another nine holes.
Feb. 12 – Arrived at Trump International at 8:31 a.m., left at 1:49 p.m., appeared to be wearing a golf shirt in the limo ride back to Mar-a-Lago.
Feb. 18 – Arrived at Trump International at 8:51 a.m., left at 1:16 p.m. Asked the next day if Trump played golf during the 4½-hour visit to the golf club, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: “I do believe he played a couple of holes.”
Feb. 19 — Arrived at Trump International at 8:58 a.m., left at 2:25 p.m. Spokeswoman Sanders: "I know he played a couple of holes this morning, but I'm not going to disclose any of the others that were there." Golf blog NoLayingUp.com later revealed Trump played 18 holes with four-time major champion Rory McIlroy.
After the McIlroy news, Sanders said the president “intended to play a few holes and decided to play longer. He also had a full day of meetings, calls and interviews for the new NSA (national security adviser)…”
March 4 — After unleashing a series of early morning tweets accusing Obama of wiretapping him, the president arrived at Trump International at 9:26 a.m. and left at 1:05 p.m. wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat and golf shirt. The White House said the president was conducting meetings, taking phone calls and that he "might hit a few balls."
March 5 — Arrived at Trump International at 9:02 a.m. and departed at 12:48 a.m. The White House didn't confirm whether the president played golf during his nearly four hours at the course.
March 18 — Arrived at Trump International around 10 a.m. and left at 2:44 p.m. The White House said Trump had "meetings and phone calls" at the club and wouldn't say whether he was golfing. Trump friend Christopher Ruddy later tweeted a picture of the president in the clubhouse in golf attire, including a golfing glove on his left hand.
March 19 — Arrived at Trump International at 8:37 a.m. and left at 12:10 p.m. Appeared to be wearing golf shirt and hat on limo ride back to Mar-a-Lago.
March 25 — Arrived at 11:01 a.m. at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va. Departed at 3:20 p.m. Pictures on social media showed the president in golf shirt, hat and shoes.
April 2 — At Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., a rare White House-confirmed golf outing with Sen. Rand Paul and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney. "They're discussing a variety of topics, including healthcare," said White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham.
April 8 — Arrived at Trump International at 9:05 a.m. and departed at 2:15 p.m. Spotted on the course by Palm Beach Post photographer Allen Eyestone.
April 9 — Arrived at Trump International at 9:32 a.m. and departed at 2:32 p.m. Played the course as part of two foursomes, then ordered salad in the club room. Also tweeted about Egypt during his visit.
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