A White House official told NBC News that Donald Trump is not worried about the optics of him on the golf course while Americans lose their retirement savings in a market meltdown caused by his tariff strategy.
Trump golfing in Florida is like “going to a birthday party after a friend has had surgery,” the official said, adding “the economy will be fine.”
Markets collapsed on Thursday and Friday after Trump announced tariffs on goods imported from some of America’s biggest trading partners last week. Markets sunk even further when China announced reciprocal tariffs. On Friday, the Dow was down another 2200 points.
The next day, the White House released a statement touting Trump’s alleged golf prowess.
“The President won his second round matchup of the Senior Club Championship today in Jupiter, FL, and advances to the Championship Round tomorrow,” the White House said.
Trump also faced criticism for skipping the dignified transfer ceremony for American soldiers killed in a training exercise in Lithuania to attend a golf tournament.
The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman suggested Trump “long ago stopped caring about certain optics” and has made it clear that during his second term he is “going to do what he wants.”
