tRUMP OUT PLAYING GOLF AGAIN
White House aides have always been leery of Trump’s visits to Bedminster where, as at Mar-a-Lago, he can mingle with members without staff “handlers” surrounding him. Also, there are fewer staff to try to keep him upbeat and, with some luck, away from the television.
The New Jersey golf club is where a brooding Trump unleashed several of his most inflammatory attacks and where, in spring 2017, he made the final decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, the move that triggered the special counsel’s probe into Russian election meddling. During last summer’s Bedminster break, he debuted his threat to unleash “fire and fury” against North Korea and then made his first tepid response to the racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
This year, Trump’s tweets have included scientifically dubious theories about the raging California wildfires and an insult to NBA superstar LeBron James that to some read as a racial dog whistle. In another early morning blast, he acknowledged that the 2016 Trump Tower meeting at the center of the Russia investigation was indeed arranged “to get information on an opponent.”
John Catsimatidis, a billionaire businessman and radio host who owns a New York City supermarket chain and attended the CEO dinner, described Trump as in a “great mood” as he promoted the economy and fielded questions, including several on immigration. The president told those in attendance that he was considering signing an executive order to make it easier for top-performing foreign students to stay in the U.S. as well as for companies to hire the foreign workers they need.
“Whatever’s needed in America, whether it’s truck drivers or programmers, whatever’s needed for American companies,” Catsimatidis said Trump told him.
That’s the kind of off-the-cuff promise-making that White House aides are on high alert for.
The golf club remains open and active when Trump is on the scene, giving the president a chance to mix with members and, as he delights in doing, dropping in on weddings and parties. It’s where his daughter Ivanka married Jared Kushner, and where Trump, pre-presidency, had planned to be buried.
But the casual atmosphere also allows members to buttonhole the president to push him on pet issues.
While the Mar-a-Lago crowd has a reputation among White House staffers for being dominated by aging socialites with few real-world concerns, Bedminster regulars tend to be lower-key members of the tristate-area elite whom Trump likes and respects and to whom he may be more amendable to listening.
The atmosphere is also much more casual than Mar-a-Lago, where high-society Palm Beach members reserve tables and dress to the nines hoping to see or be seen. There, Trump is constantly approached for photos or to broach odd ideas about world peace or pet issues.
In Bedminster, the members are more reserved, but when they do come up to Trump with ideas, they are usually more serious and Trump is more likely to direct staff to follow up, White House aides say.
Members and White House aides say Trump appears to be more comfortable at Bedminster, which, according to one member who enjoys reciprocal privileges, has a “totally different” vibe.
Trump does meet with staff and has been speaking by phone with Pence, his secretary of state, his national security adviser and congressional leaders.
But he’s rarely seen in a suit jacket and tie and has proved to be more unchecked at the property, which is dotted with trees, ponds and green lawns.
“It’s beautiful,” Catsimatidis said the day after his first visit. “The beauty was far beyond what I imagined.”
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White House aides have always been leery of Trump’s visits to Bedminster where, as at Mar-a-Lago, he can mingle with members without staff “handlers” surrounding him. Also, there are fewer staff to try to keep him upbeat and, with some luck, away from the television.
The New Jersey golf club is where a brooding Trump unleashed several of his most inflammatory attacks and where, in spring 2017, he made the final decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, the move that triggered the special counsel’s probe into Russian election meddling. During last summer’s Bedminster break, he debuted his threat to unleash “fire and fury” against North Korea and then made his first tepid response to the racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
This year, Trump’s tweets have included scientifically dubious theories about the raging California wildfires and an insult to NBA superstar LeBron James that to some read as a racial dog whistle. In another early morning blast, he acknowledged that the 2016 Trump Tower meeting at the center of the Russia investigation was indeed arranged “to get information on an opponent.”
John Catsimatidis, a billionaire businessman and radio host who owns a New York City supermarket chain and attended the CEO dinner, described Trump as in a “great mood” as he promoted the economy and fielded questions, including several on immigration. The president told those in attendance that he was considering signing an executive order to make it easier for top-performing foreign students to stay in the U.S. as well as for companies to hire the foreign workers they need.
“Whatever’s needed in America, whether it’s truck drivers or programmers, whatever’s needed for American companies,” Catsimatidis said Trump told him.
That’s the kind of off-the-cuff promise-making that White House aides are on high alert for.
The golf club remains open and active when Trump is on the scene, giving the president a chance to mix with members and, as he delights in doing, dropping in on weddings and parties. It’s where his daughter Ivanka married Jared Kushner, and where Trump, pre-presidency, had planned to be buried.
But the casual atmosphere also allows members to buttonhole the president to push him on pet issues.
While the Mar-a-Lago crowd has a reputation among White House staffers for being dominated by aging socialites with few real-world concerns, Bedminster regulars tend to be lower-key members of the tristate-area elite whom Trump likes and respects and to whom he may be more amendable to listening.
The atmosphere is also much more casual than Mar-a-Lago, where high-society Palm Beach members reserve tables and dress to the nines hoping to see or be seen. There, Trump is constantly approached for photos or to broach odd ideas about world peace or pet issues.
In Bedminster, the members are more reserved, but when they do come up to Trump with ideas, they are usually more serious and Trump is more likely to direct staff to follow up, White House aides say.
Members and White House aides say Trump appears to be more comfortable at Bedminster, which, according to one member who enjoys reciprocal privileges, has a “totally different” vibe.
Trump does meet with staff and has been speaking by phone with Pence, his secretary of state, his national security adviser and congressional leaders.
But he’s rarely seen in a suit jacket and tie and has proved to be more unchecked at the property, which is dotted with trees, ponds and green lawns.
“It’s beautiful,” Catsimatidis said the day after his first visit. “The beauty was far beyond what I imagined.”
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