Trump begins 17-day break at NJ country club
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Taking a break from the capital and a rocky first six months in office, President Donald Trump spent the first full day of his “working vacation” quietly on Saturday.
Burdened with West Wing conflict, a stalled legislative agenda and a pile of investigations, Trump departed Washington on Friday afternoon for a 17-day trip to his private golf club in central New Jersey. He was accompanied by his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-inlaw Jared Kushner, both senior advisers, as well as the aide charged with resetting his chaotic administration— new chief of staff John Kelly.
With the Russia investigation gaining steam and looming crises in North Korea and other hot spots, no one expects a truly quiet couple of weeks.
A White House official said Trump’s plans at Bedminster included meetings with aides and lawmakers. He was briefed by Kelly about the three Marines who were missing after their Osprey aircraft crashed into the sea off the east coast of Australia on Saturday while trying to land.
And within hours of arriving, Trump issued a statement defending his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, who has been under fire from conservative groups for pushing out several hard-liners on the national security staff and renewing the security clearance of former President Barack Obama’s last national security adviser, among other things.
The White House did not answer questions about whether Trump was golfing on a day that started out overcast but grew sunny in the afternoon.
Trump’s trip is very much in keeping with a tradition of presidents escaping Washington during the late summer.
Martha’s Vineyard, known for its affluence, became the choice summer vacation spot for both President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama. Clinton was also known to make summer trips to Jackson Hole, Wyo., and the Obamas visited several national parks.
President George H. W. Bush spent his vacation time at the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. President George W. Bush would usually take breaks on his ranch in Crawford, Texas, famously clearing brush and sometimes drawing criticism for the length of his getaways.
Typically an enthusiastic social media presence, Trump was relatively quiet on Twitter Saturday. Around midday, he tweeted: “Prosperity is coming back to our shores because we are putting America WORKERS and FAMILIES first.”
Kelly’s first week on the job was marked by his efforts to crack down on a disorderly system. He quickly made his presence known on Monday, ousting newly appointed communications director Anthony Scaramucci and revising the command structure so that all senior staffers report to him.
Still, it is not clear Trump will change his Twitter ways. On Tuesday he tweeted that “only the Fake News Media and Trump enemies want me to stop using Social Media.”
Before he took office,
Trump was a frequent critic of former President Barack Obama’s vacation and golf habits.
“@BarackObama played golf yesterday. Now he heads to a 10 day vacation in Martha’s Vineyard. Nice work ethic,” Trump tweeted in August 2011.
So far, Trump has spent 13 of 28 weekends in office away from the White House, mostly at his properties in Palm Beach, Florida, or Bedminster, New Jersey. The figures include a weekend during official travel overseas and Father’s Day weekend at Camp David, the government-owned presidential retreat in Maryland.
Trump also frequently plays golf at his properties, though the White House typically will not acknowledge that he plays.
In addition to a break from Washington, the vacation also has a practical reason. Everyone working in the White House West Wing had to relocate so the government could replace a 27-year-old heating and cooling system.