President Trump on Friday defended his frequent weekend trips to his luxury properties, saying he does not care about golfing as much as people might think he does.
“I have a lot of property. So if I go to my clubs like in New Jersey, they’ll say, ‘Oh he is going to play golf.’ I am not going to play golf. I couldn’t care less about golf,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News.
“But I have a place there that costs almost nothing because its hundreds of acres and security and they don’t have to close up streets,” he added.
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Trump said he feels “a little guilty” going back to his Trump Tower residence in New York because of all the expenses that are associated with each trip.
“I love New York, but going back is very expensive for the country because they close up Fifth Avenue and they close up 56th Street … and I always feel a little but guilty when I go there,” he said.
Trump noted that he prefers to visit his other properties because they are not as expensive to secure but added that he does not want to be perceived as “lazy.”
“It would be much better if people would understand that I could go other places that I have. But then they hit me for relaxing. And I don’t want to be known as a person that relaxes because I am working hard and I am working hard for the people.”
Trump, who frequently criticized his predecessor Barack Obama for playing golf while in office, has not shied away from going to his own golf clubs since taking office, where he has at times held weekend meetings with administration officials.
According to The New York Times, Trump has spent 31 days of his presidency visiting at least one of his properties, including 19 visits to his golf clubs.