Remember when press secretary Sean Spicer informed reporters that Donald Trump's golfing habits are much more different and consequential than Barack Obama's history with golf? When reporters asked Spicer why Trump visits Mar-a-Lago so frequently, Spicer said that it was "part of being president" and conveniently ignored the fact that Trump is on pace to play more golf than Obama did during his two terms. To be exact, Obama played 333 rounds of golf over his eight years as president.
Before anyone complains, playing a sport isn't a sin. That's not the point here. Various American presidents enjoyed their fair share of sports during their presidencies. Theodore Roosevelt was a huge fan of football, Dwight D. Eisenhower loved boxing and fencing, and John F. Kennedy was a talented swimmer - the list goes on. With the nation's most challenging job at hand, a president deserves a moment of respite and a breath of fresh air found in a game of their choice. This also includes the sport of golf.
However, Trump ran a political campaign replete with some eyebrow-raising promises in order to win the support of Americans. In one of his passionate vows to make America great again, Trump promised, "I’m going to be working for you. I’m not going to have time to go play golf." If that's true then it's worth asking why Trump has made 16 visits to one of his golf courses in less than 12 weeks since becoming president.
What's even more telling is how Obama did not immediately initiate an expedition into golf adventures when he became president. In fact, Obama waited well until April to play a round of golf, according to CNN. In stark contrast, Trump made his sixth golf course visit within 30 days of becoming president.
Bradd Jaffy, senior editor at NBC News, noted the different occasions Trump lambasted Obama for his golf activity on the day he made his sixth golf trip. It's a breathtaking visual of Trump's lack of self-awareness and hypocrisy for being Obama's most vocal critic on the subject of golf (of all subjects).
Talking about golf is admittedly dry — at least in my opinion. But there's one thing that makes it everyone's issue: money. It's important to remember that the man who clamored about Obama's golfing habits and what it allegedly cost the average American taxpayer conveniently forgets to mention that American taxpayers, under Trump's administration, have paid millions so far to facilitate his rather voracious appetite for golf. And that should worry everyone.
