President Donald Trump has taken criticism from his opponents and the media for golfing on Memorial Day weekend. But his predecessor, President Barack Obama, golfed on seven of the eight Memorial Day weekends of his presidency.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee to challenge Trump in the fall, tweeted a criticism that Trump was golfing on Saturday, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic:
Nearly 100,000 lives have been lost, and tens of millions are out of work.
Meanwhile, the president spent his day golfing. pic.twitter.com/H1BVNtgVjA
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 24, 2020
The media echoed that criticism.
However, President Obama was notorious for golfing — even when the country was at war, or in mid-crisis. And he golfed on Memorial Day weekend every year but one. According to the tally at trumpgolfoutings.com, Obama golfed:
- Monday, May 25, 2009
- Monday, May 30, 2011
- Saturday, May 26, 2012
- Saturday, May 25, 2013
- Saturday, May 24, 2014
- Saturday, May 23, 2015
- Saturday, May 28, 2016
The only exception was in 2010, when Obama went back to visit Chicago — and drew criticism from conservatives for failing to lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day to mark the occasion. (He laid a wreath at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery near Chicago, instead.)
In a series of tweets, President Trump responded to the criticism, noting it was the first time he had golfed in months — and that Obama had infamously golfed after speaking briefly about the beheading of American James Foley by ISIS:
Some stories about the fact that in order to get outside and perhaps, even a little exercise, I played golf over the weekend. The Fake & Totally Corrupt News makes it sound like a mortal sin – I knew this would happen! What they don’t say is that it was my first golf in almost…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020
….3 months and, if I waited 3 years, they would do their usual “hit” pieces anyway. They are sick with hatred and dishonesty. They are truly deranged! They don’t mention Sleepy Joe’s poor work ethic, or all of the time Obama spent on the golf course, often flying to….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020
….Hawaii in a big, fully loaded 747, to play. What did that do to the so-called Carbon Footprint? He also played moments after the brutal killing by ISIS of a wonderful young man. Totally inappropriate – and it was me who shattered 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. I was left a MESS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020
Trump also returned to the golf course as several states began opening public amenities for recreation, and after Dr. Deborah Birx of his coronavirus task force told Americans to enjoy the outdoors while observing “social distancing.”
Before Saturday’s outing, Trump last golfed on March 8, 2020.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, is available for pre-order. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Photo: file
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.