Trump marks Memorial Day by defending his weekend of golfing as the US coronavirus death toll creeps toward 100,000

• President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at those who criticized him for playing golf over Memorial Day weekend as the US stood on the brink of 100,000 reported coronavirus deaths.
• In a series of tweets he attacked the media for covering his golf outings, criticized former Vice President Joe Biden as lazy, and went after former President Barack Obama for golfing while in the White House.
• The US death toll from coronavirus has surpassed the combined total of US deaths from the wars in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
• Instead of focusing on the death toll and Memorial Day, Trump has spent the past few days on the golf course between tweeting conspiracy theories and sexist attacks at Democratic women like Hillary Clinton.
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As the US death toll from coronavirus crept toward 100,000, President Donald Trump spent his weekend golfing at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

The president’s golf outing at one of his properties generated significant media coverage, as well as an attack ad from former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Trump was apparently livid over the amount of attention this received and lashed out at critics in a series of tweets on Monday, straying away from honoring the sacrifice of US service members as the country marked Memorial Day after briefly referencing the solemn occasion in earlier tweets.

Trump tweeted: “Some stories about the fact that in order to get outside and perhaps, even a little exercise, I played golf over the weekend. The Fake & Totally Corrupt News makes it sound like a mortal sin – I knew this would happen! What they don’t say is that it was my first golf in almost 3 months and, if I waited 3 years, they would do their usual “hit” pieces anyway. They are sick with hatred and dishonesty. They are truly deranged!”

Trump, who in August 2016 said he wouldn’t “have time” to golf as president because he’d be too busy working for the people, then went on to attack Biden as lazy while he criticized former President Barack Obama for golfing after ISIS killed an American when he was commander-in-chief, describing it as “totally inappropriate.”

While still a private citizen, Trump frequently criticized Obama for golfing while he was in the White House, but has not held himself to the same standard as president.

Before this weekend, Trump’s last golf outing was on March 8. By that point, his golfing trips had already cost taxpayers over $130 million. Sunday marked Trump’s 266th visit to one of his golf clubs as president, and his 358th visit to one of his properties, according to CNN’s count. Trump’s frequent visits to his properties have raised eyebrows and questions over whether he’s profiting from the presidency.

The number of Americans killed by coronavirus so far has surpassed the combined total of US deaths from the wars in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Trump has hardly focused on this in recent days.

As Trump golfed over Memorial Day weekend while the country mourned the nearly 100,000 people who’ve died in roughly three months, the president also spent a good portion of Saturday and Sunday on Twitter, spreading conspiracy theories and tweeting sexist insults. Trump, for example, shared a tweet from a conservative and former political candidate, John Stahl, which described former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a “skank.”

There were over 1.6 million reported coronavirus cases in the US as of Monday, and over 97,000 confirmed deaths, according to the latest numbers from Johns Hopkins. Roughly 36 million people have also lost their jobs in a matter of weeks because of coronavirus and related restrictions.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump also visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Monday morning to lay a wreath for Memorial Day before the president headed to Baltimore to deliver remarks at Fort McHenry.