Last updated on December 28th, 2017 at 12:49 pm
As 2017 draws to a close, Donald Trump has blown the record for presidential first year vacation days out of the water. Trump spent nearly one-third (111 days) of his first year in office on vacation. In contrast, Barack Obama took 26 vacation days during the first year of his presidency.
MSNBC’s The Beat With Ari Melber highlighted Trump’s excessive and nearly constant vacation travel:
According to CBS News’ Mark Knoller, Obama took 26 days of vacation during his first year. Trump took nearly three times more vacation days than Ronald Reagan, who took 42 vacation days during his first year in office. George H.W. Bush spent 40 days on vacation. George W. Bush took 69 days of vacation. On the opposite side of spectrum Democrat Jimmy Carter took just 19 days, and Bill Clinton had 21 days of vacation during their respective first years in office.
Trump claimed on the campaign trail that Hillary Clinton did not have the energy to be president, but now that he is in the White House, Trump is setting records for presidential laziness that may never be touched. George W. Bush set off a national firestorm by vacationing so frequently as president, but W. looks like a workaholic next to Trump.
Donald Trump’s biggest first-year accomplishment as president wasn’t the tax cut bill that was low hanging fruit for a Republican-controlled Congress that a trained chimp could have gotten it passed.
Trump’s biggest accomplishment in 2017 was reminding America that not everyone can be president. A President needs to show up for work and lead the country. Trump has failed on both of these measures, and when it is time to elect a president again in 2020 voters will not take for granted that they need to choose a president who will not treat the office like a paid vacation.
Editor’s Note: The story has been correct to refect the fact that by MSNBC’s numbers, Trump has taken 4 times, not 5 times more vacation than Obama.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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