BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) – President Donald Trump would like to interrupt his vacation to deliver the following message: Don’t call this a vacation.
The president has decamped from Washington to his private golf club in central New Jersey. But he has repeatedly pushed back on the idea that this is a relaxing August getaway, posting on Twitter over the weekend: “this is not a vacation – meetings and calls!”
Trump’s staff has labeled the trip a “working vacation.” Aides say Trump is meeting with aides and cabinet members to discuss policy and he is expected to go to New York City next week. They have declined to answer repeated questions about whether he is playing golf.
Still, the only sighting of Trump since he landed in New Jersey was a video that surfaced online Saturday of the president greeting wedding guests at his club. Dressed in a golf shirt and a red “Make America Great Again” hat, Trump exited a golf cart to chat with the guests.
So far, the main proof Trump is not off the clock is his steady flow of Twitter comments, particularly Monday, when rain likely kept him indoors. Throughout the day he pushed out messages touting his supporters, attacking Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal and highlighting a vote by the United Nations Security Council to slap more sanctions on North Korea.