“I‘m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf,” so said Donald Trump on the campaign trail last August.
Flash forward half a year and Trump hit the links six times in the first month of his presidency alone.
The president’s quip in August wasn’t an anomaly either. During President Obama’s time in office, Trump regularly invoked Obama’s golfing habit in his criticisms of the Democrat. According to Politico, “Trump mocked Obama more than two dozen times for golfing amid problems in the White House.”
“We pay for Obama’s travel so he can fundraise millions so Democrats can run on lies. Then we pay for his golf,” Trump tweeted in 2014.
On November 18, 2013, Trump tweeted, “President Obama played golf yesterday???”
Again in 2014 he wrote, “Obama has admitted that he spends his mornings watching @ESPN. Then he plays golf, fundraises & grants amnesty to illegals.”
For the opposition party, juxtaposing a president’s golf games with the demands of his job is as simple as putting. It’s a cheap shot sure to resonate with the base.
David Axelrod learned this lesson the hard way.
Years into Obama’s presidency, the former White House aide reflected on his own mistakes when asked about Obama’s golf critics, “We used to pillory George Bush for going to his ranch and we were wrong. The demands and pressures of the presidency are relentless, and we ought to want our presidents to get small breaks to relax, even in – and maybe especially in – the midst of crisis.”
George W. Bush himself defended Obama, saying in 2013, “I think he ought to play golf. … I know what it’s like to be in the bubble. I know the pressures of the job, and to be able to get outside and play golf with some of your pals is important for the president. It does give you an outlet.”
Of course, like George W. Bush, presidents should be sensitive to optics. In 2014, Obama faced criticism after he held a press conference to address the beheading of journalist James Foley and then proceeded directly to the golf course. He later admitted this was a mistake.
Even so, shortly after this incident a YouGov poll found only 31 percent of Americans thought it was fair to criticize presidents for playing golf. Fifty-four percent believed it was unfair.
Just last week, Donald Trump reminded Americans of the “mess” he inherited from Barack Obama. If so, why is it okay for him to golf in the midst of this mess, but not Obama?
It’s okay to be wrong. Before driving more balls, and consequently attracting more criticism, President Trump should admit as much and go about his business.
The implication of every golf-centric jab is that presidents should have more to do than worry about golf. Let’s focus on those issues instead.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
