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This past weekend, President Donald Trump announced that golf courses managed by the federal government at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland will be restored — a development that comes as millions of Americans are in the depths of an affordability crisis.
The courses are offered to presidents, military officers, Department of Defense officials, and family members of those individuals, Reuters reports. Trump, an avid golfer, has described the courses as “a great place that has been destroyed over the years through lack of maintenance.”
Although Trump once claimed he would be “too busy” being president to play golf, he has found time to play the game most weekends since his return to office.
Trump also announced that golfing legend Jack Nicklaus will be involved in the redesign project, with Nicklaus’s design firm also providing input.
The White House has been silent on how the firm will be paid and on the total costs of the project. There has been no comment on whether the project will be paid for by taxpayers or through some other means.
It’s possible that the remodeling could be paid for through the same method as Trump’s $300 million redesign of the White House’s East Wing, which is reportedly being financed by corporations that have huge conflicts of interest when it comes to their contracts with the federal government or regulations relating to their industries.
The U.S. military oversees more than 150 golf courses worldwide. Four military-based courses are located in Maryland alone. On a scale of 0 to 100, GolfDay rates The Courses at Andrews a 78.7 — not a perfect grade, but not an indication that the course is in dire need of repairs.
Trump’s ambitious remodeling plans come as Americans overall are struggling with the effects of inflation, which has grown due in part to Trump’s economic policies, including his tariffs. A recently published congressional report shows that, under Trump’s second term as president so far, Americans are paying $700 more each month for food, shelter, energy, and other items, contributing to a steep drop in consumer confidence this month.
Trump has scoffed at complaints of “affordability,” deriding such concerns as being “a con job.”
“Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down, and the press doesn’t report it,” Trump baselessly claimed earlier this month, disregarding the economic uncertainty currently faced by millions of Americans.
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