{"id":39168,"date":"2017-08-07T06:00:24","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T06:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=39168"},"modified":"2017-08-07T09:31:18","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T09:31:18","slug":"trumps-new-jersey-trip-is-not-a-vacation-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/lifestyle\/trumps-new-jersey-trip-is-not-a-vacation-officials-say.html","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s New Jersey trip is not a vacation, officials say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump\u2019s New Jersey trip is not a vacation, officials say<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

President Trump is not \u2014 repeat not \u2014 on vacation.<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s just spending the next two weeks at his posh golf resort in New Jersey while the White House, which is not \u2014 repeat not \u2014 a dump, undergoes major renovations.<\/span><\/p>\n

After frequently criticizing former President Barack Obama for his golf vacations, Mr. Trump decamped Washington on Friday for a 17-day stay at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps mindful that his critics were accusing him of hypocrisy, Mr. Trump took to Twitter on Saturday evening to defend the move.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWorking in Bedminster, N.J., as long planned construction is being done at the White House. This is not a vacation \u2014 meetings and calls!\u201d the president tweeted.<\/span><\/p>\n

White House aides have called it a \u201cworking vacation,\u201d which sounds a lot like the explanation Mr. Obama\u2019s aides used to give: that the presidency travels with the man, even at a golf course or a rented beachfront house in Hawaii.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to holding policy meetings at Bedminster, Mr. Trump is expected to make day trips to other states to promote his agenda.<\/span><\/p>\n

Renovators didn\u2019t waste any time overhauling the West Wing once Mr. Trump departed the White House. Work began hardly an hour after Mr. Trump boarded Air Force One en route to Bedminster, said White House social media manager Dan Scavino.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Scavino tweeted a picture of the Oval Office being emptied of furniture and office equipment, including a photograph of the White House\u2019s historic Resolute desk being removed for renovation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The renovations include upgrades to the facility\u2019s 27-year-old air-conditioning and heating systems, as well as the installation of new wiring, paint and carpets.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDue to the 24\/7, 365-day use a year, the estimated age of the system based off of usage is 81 years old,\u201d deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters told reporters. \u201cI doubt that you would want to come to work on a hot summer day when the air-conditioning wasn\u2019t working.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the HVAC work, other structural repairs include fixing a ceiling leak, repairing the steps to the South Portico on the South Lawn to help eradicate a persistent problem with house flies, and renovating the Navy Mess kitchen. Workers will also give a makeover to the West Wing lower lobby, including fresh paint, new carpet and curtains.<\/span><\/p>\n

The extensive renovations began just a few days after Mr. Trump refuted a report that he had told golfing buddies the White House is \u201ca dump.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Trump has said he doesn\u2019t like vacations, and that if you truly enjoy your job, you don\u2019t need time off. But two weeks at a fancy golf resort is the kind of political optics over which Mr. Trump used to delight in poking fun at Mr. Obama.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c@Barackobama played golf yesterday. Now he heads to a 10 day vacation in Martha\u2019s Vineyard. Nice work ethic,\u201d Mr. Trump taunted his predecessor on Twitter in 2011.<\/span>
\nHe also asked, \u201cWhy is @BarackObama always campaigning or on vacation?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2015, Mr. Trump said he didn\u2019t think he would take much vacation time as president.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would rarely leave the White House because there\u2019s so much work to be done,\u201d Mr. Trump said. \u201cI would not be a president who took vacations. I would not be a president that takes time off. You don\u2019t have time to take time off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Since his inauguration, Mr. Trump has spent about 30 percent of his days away from the White House, primarily at his resort properties in Palm Beach, Florida, and in New Jersey.<\/span>
\nWalter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics who clashed with the Trump administration, said the president\u2019s trip to his name-brand resort in New Jersey \u201cis not a vacation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a marketing blitz. Lobbyists & foreign govts should watch to see if HSN live broadcasts any cheap deals on influence,\u201d Mr. Shaub tweeted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Presidents typically take time off in August, when Congress is in recess. Mr. Obama and Bill Clinton favored vacations of two weeks or more at the high-rent summer playground of Martha\u2019s Vineyard, Massachusetts; President George W. Bush decompressed at his ranch in tiny Crawford, Texas; and Ronald Reagan cherished time spent riding horses at his ranch in the mountains of California.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2017\/aug\/6\/donald-trumps-new-jersey-trip-is-not-a-vacation-of\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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