The White House is nothing but a dump, says Trump
DONALD Trump has revealed why he spends so much time playing golf – he thinks the White House is a ‘real dump’.
The billionaire, who has a penthouse flat in New York’s Trump Tower and owns the sprawling Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, told his golfing buddies that the President’s mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is not up to scratch.
Explaining his frequent trips to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, he apparently complained: ‘The White House is a real dump.’
The remark, reported by golf.com, infuriated Bill and Hillary Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, who called the White House home for eight years.
‘Thank you to all the White House ushers, butlers, maids, chefs, florists, gardeners, plumbers, engineers and curators for all you do every day,’ she tweeted in response to the report.
The White House has 132 rooms spread across 55,000sq ft, including 16 familyguest rooms, three different types of kitchens and 35 bathrooms.
The residence also includes a bowling alley, tennis court, basketball court, putting green, cinema, jogging track and swimming pool.
Back in New York, Mr Trump’s three-storey, 53-room penthouse at the top of Trump Tower features marble pillars, crystal chandeliers, portraits depicting Greek myths and a fountain.
Just after he won the election last Autumn, Ivana Trump, the President’s first wife, said she did not think the White House was as good as Trump Tower.
She said: ‘To be perfectly honest, I think probably the Trump Tower and my townhouse in New York is much better than the White House.’
But nothing compares to his 535-acre Mar-a-Lago resort.
Designed by Tom Fazio II, it opened in 2004 and was mod- elled on the gardens of Versailles. It boasts two golf courses and several mansions and villas throughout the grounds. The golf club itself costs £250,000 to join and members include best-selling authors, politicians and busi- ness leaders. Although Mr Trump was critical of Barack Obama during the election campaign for the time he spent on the golf course, the President has spent 43 days on the greens since taking office 193 days ago, according to NBC.
He also spent 21 of his first 26 weekends away from Washington, mainly at his Florida getaway, where the gaudiness is in stark contrast to the neoclassical White House.
At a cocktail party shortly after winning the election, Mr Trump even invited members at his Bedminster club to ‘drop in’ on his interviews with potential Cabinet members. ‘We’re doing a lot of interviews tomorrow – generals, dictators, we have everything.
‘ You may wanna come around. It’ll be fun,’ he is reported to have said.
The ‘dump’ quote came as it was revealed that Mr Trump has said he wanted to be involved more with the UK because ‘you don’t hear the word Britain any more’.
Promising a big post-Brexit trade deal, he made the remark in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
He said: ‘I can say that we’re going to be very involved with the UK I mean, you don’t hear the word Britain any more. It’s very interesting.’
‘Trump Tower is much better’