Former White House ethics chief Walter Shaub, who served under former President Barack Obama and for a brief time under current President Donald Trump, has become a frequent critic of the commander-in-chief, namely when it comes to his unethical behavior.
Over the weekend, Shaub took a swipe at Trump over his golf outings. The president has been a frequent golfer, going to a course of some kind on at least 196 occasions, according to Golf News Net. According to their research, Trump’s trips to the green amounts to 22 percent of his days in office so far, where he’s been at the golf course for at least part of the day.
Shaub took note of the president’s penchant for golf, and suggested that a new law be proposed — one in which Trump himself should foot the bill.
“How about a law that says anytime POTUS visits a property on or adjacent to a golf course, he/she must pay for all costs incurred by the entourage from the minute he/she left the White House until he/she is back inside the White House?” Shaub tweeted.
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1137443806578692099
Appropriately, Shaub called his proposal the “Golf On Your Own Damn Dime Act of 2019.”
Trump’s frequent golf schedule is a bit ironic, given that he himself was quite critical of Obama’s golf schedule, which was less frequent than the current president’s is. Trump tweeted at least 27 times toward Obama, chastising him for using public taxpayer dollars to enjoy his hobby.
Yet, according to reporting from HuffPost, Obama minimized those costs by golfing near the White House and on military installations. Trump, meanwhile, frequently golfs at private courses, many times his own.
That brings about an added problem to the issue, beyond simply golfing much more than Obama did and acting in a hypocritical way. Much of the costs for Trump’s golf outings include ensuring his safety, which requires accommodating his Secret Service detail with things like golf carts or hotel stays at his resorts.
The money from those expenses goes directly toward Trump himself if the golf outing takes place at one of his own resorts.
Featured image via Steve Jurvetson/Flickr
