Donald Trump once questioned the wisdom of taking vacations. “What’s the point?” he asked.
But now the president is getting ready to join the annual August exodus from this town he calls “the swamp.” Trump is due to set out Friday on his first extended vacation from Washington since the inauguration — a 17-day getaway to his private golf club in central New Jersey.
The president’s vacation could be driven, in part, by necessity. Everyone who works in the White House West Wing, including the Oval Office occupant himself, will be forced to clear out by week’s end so that the government can replace the balky, 27-year-old heating and cooling system.
But the White House hasn’t been entertaining questions about the president’s August plans.
Asked whether Trump would be leaving Washington this month, given his recent warning that Congress should stick around until they vote on health care legislation, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday: “We’ll continue to keep you guys updated on his August schedule as those details are finalized.”
Trump and his supporters like to tout his disdain for taking vacations, when the truth is he takes them constantly.