‘Hard working’ Trump clocks in at 11am and out again at 6pm
DONALD TRUMP begins his official work day as late as 11am and is known to clock off at 6pm, leaked copies of his private schedule reportedly reveal.
The US president often has ill-defined “executive time” scheduled in the early morning and at other times, according to Axios, the political website.
The periods are used for Mr Trump to make phone calls, watch television and send tweets, it was claimed – often from his private residence in the White House. The late official start contrasts with Mr Trump’s early months in the White House and with the start times of previous presidents.
George W Bush typically arrived in the Oval Office by 6.45am while Barack Obama worked out before holding meetings from 9am or 10am.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, defended Mr Trump as “one of the hardest workers I have ever seen” and said he worked when in the residence, making calls to “staff, Hill members, cabinet members and foreign leaders during this time”.
The report emerged amid separate claims that White House lawyers were preparing for Mr Trump to be interviewed by the official investigation into Russian election meddling.
Mr Trump’s legal team is anticipating that Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the investigation, will ask to interview him, according to NBC News. It said there were discussions about whether Mr Trump should give written responses to questions or take part in a sit-down interview. Mr Mueller is looking into the Trump campaign’s communications with Russians before the 2016 vote as well as wider concerns about election meddling.
Mr Trump’s work practices and mental health have hit the headlines amid fallout from a controversial book called Fire and Fury. The book, written by journalist Michael Wolff, claimed that “100 per cent” of Mr Trump’s senior aides concluded he was “incapable of functioning in his job”.
The White House denounced the book as “trashy tabloid fiction”. ♦ The US government announced yesterday the end of protected status for about 200,000 Salvadorans living there since before 2001, a move that threatens tens of thousands of well-established families with children born in the United States.
The status had shielded them from deportation ever since two earthquakes rocked El Salvador in early 2001. They were given 18 months to leave or be deported, enough time for Congress to craft a legislative solution.