Trump golfs as East Coast braces for catastrophic hurricane

President Trump is spending his Saturday at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, as Southern states on the East Coast brace for landfall of a Category 4 hurricane. Mr. Trump canceled a weekend visit to Poland to monitor Hurricane Dorian from Camp David.

“To ensure that all resources of the federal government are focused on the arriving storm, I have decided to send our Vice President Mike Pence to Poland this weekend in my place,” Mr. Trump said on Thursday. “It’s something very important for me to be here. This storm looks like it could be a very, very big one indeed.”

Hurricane Dorian, which could affect more than 20 million Americans, may spare Florida from a direct hit and make landfall over South Carolina on Wednesday or Thursday. State of emergencies are in effect for the entire states of Florida and North Carolina, and 12 counties in Georgia.

On Saturday morning, Mr. Trump retweeted several tweets by the National Hurricane Center, FEMA and the American Red Cross providing information about the storm. He also warned in a tweet that “our great South Carolina could get hit MUCH harder than first thought.”

Mr. Trump also tweeted on Saturday morning about former FBI Director James Comey, his re-election campaign slogan to “Keep America Great,” and the high ratings for Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show.

“Has anyone noticed that the top shows on @foxnews and cable ratings are those that are Fair (or great) to your favorite President, me! Congratulations to @seanhannity for being the number one show on Cable Television!” Mr. Trump wrote.

Mr. Trump, who is spending his 226th day at a Trump golf club during his presidency, often criticized former President Obama for golfing. Mr. Obama was widely condemned for golfing in Martha’s Vineyard in 2016 during catastrophic flooding. 

Mr. Trump, then a presidential candidate, was praised by a supporter for visiting the state at the time. 

“We’re glad you’re not playing golf at Martha’s Vineyard,” one woman told Mr. Trump in a dig at Mr. Obama.

“Somebody is, somebody is that shouldn’t be,” Trump replied.