Donald Trump Fights with London's Mayor Over Criticism Because He Golfed During Hurricane Dorian
President Donald Trump on Tuesday snapped back at criticism over his decision to go golfing this week as Hurricane Dorian continued its deadly approach toward the United States.
Trump’s response was prompted by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, with whom he has regularly tangled, who told Politico in an interview published Monday that Trump, 73, was “clearly busy dealing with a hurricane out on the golf course.”
Khan was apparently referring to when Trump traveled Saturday to one of his golf courses in Virginia, where he reportedly spent some time golfing. The White House declined to comment but stressed that he was “being briefed every hour” on the hurricane.
Trump confused a bit of this backlash on Twitter Tuesday, when he confirmed that, yes, he had been golfing — but on Monday, after Dorian had made landfall in the Bahamas.
“The incompetent Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, was bothered that I played a very fast round of golf yesterday,” Trump tweeted. “Many Pols exercise for hours, or travel for weeks. Me, I run through one of my courses (very inexpensive).”
Taking another swipe at Khan, Trump added, “He is a terrible mayor who should stay out of our business!”
The president, who routinely criticized Barack Obama for golfing while in office before him, has himself been an avid golfer as commander-in-chief. He has golfed dozens, if not hundreds, of times, by one analysis.
“I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf,” he said while campaigning in 2016.
Trump has included numerous messages about Hurricane Dorian on his Twitter feed, among more standard boasts about his job performance and attacks on his rivals (and celebrities).
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Not all of his PSAs have been embraced, however: He raised eyebrows for expressing surprise that Dorian could grow to be a Category 5 storm and was fact-checked by one of his own government agencies for saying the hurricane would likely affect Alabama.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
