Trump "does not see the presidency as a beacon of moral leadership (or leadership of any kind)."
The most common critique of Trump's decision to hit the links was focused on the obvious hypocrisy. And yes, there is that!
"President Obama has a major meeting on the N.Y.C. Ebola outbreak, with people flying in from all over the country, but decided to play golf," tweeted Trump in October 2014. And this one from a few months later: "Obama has admitted that he spends his mornings watching @ESPN. Then he plays golf, fundraises & grants amnesty to illegals."
But at this point in his presidency -- and his life -- Trump's hypocrisy is so well-proven as to be almost mundane. He believes that he is governed by different rules than literally everyone else. That what's good for the goose is definitely not good for the gander. This is bad.
It is also not new.
What is more striking -- and damaging as it relates to the overall health of the country -- is that Trump's golfing weekend speaks to how he simply does not see the presidency as a beacon of moral leadership (or leadership of any kind).
It's Politics 101 that when the people you represent are struggling -- or fearful or anxious, etc. -- you do what you can, from a public standpoint, to make sure they know you are with them in spirit if not in body. It's why, you would think, Trump canceled his plans to go to Poland over the weekend. Better to stay stateside and monitor the storm -- making sure people know you are on top of things!
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The difference here is the context. Playing golf on a random weekend -- as Trump does virtually every weekend -- is fine, if hugely hypocritical! Doing so when tens of thousands of Americans are boarding up their homes and business and under mandatory evacuation orders is something very, very different.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/03/politics/donald-trump-golf-hurricane/index.html
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