Golfing helped Trump have 'one of the most successful first years in office,' Sarah Huckabee Sanders says

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, feel free to call a mulligan.

On Tuesday, a reporter asked the White House press secretary what "accomplishments" President Trump had made on the golf course — a place he has spent a considerable amount of his presidency, particularly during his holiday vacation at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last week.

In response, Sanders touted the "relationship-building" the president is doing with legislators while hitting the links, claiming that Trump's golf habit has contributed to one "the most successful first years in office."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Despite his numerous denunciations of former President Barack Obama's golfing trips and his own assertion during the campaign that he'd be too busy to golf if elected, Trump has golfed on more than a quarter of his days as president, Business Insider notes. In Sanders' defense, foreign leaders like Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and lawmakers like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have recognized that golfing with Trump is an effective way to get the president's attention.

But over his Christmas vacation in Florida last week, the president was apparently aiming for a more leisurely experience. Professional golfer Taylor Funk told CNN on Tuesday that Trump "was all golf" when they hit the links together at Mar-a-Lago: "He was fully in the moment and with us. We played with two other guys and he was great with them too."