Trump hits back at Biden campaign ad criticizing him for playing golf amid pandemic

President Donald Trump has fired back at Former Vice President Joe Biden after he criticized the president for spending part of his Memorial Day weekend tweeting and playing golf as the US coronavirus death toll approached 100,000.

Late on Sunday night, Trump attempted to justify how he had been spending his weekend in a couple of tweets stressing his playing golf was part of his exercise regimen. 

‘Sleepy Joe’s representatives have just put out an ad saying that I went to play golf (exercise) today. They think I should stay in the White House at all times. What they didn’t say is that it’s the first time I’ve played golf in almost 3 months, that Biden was constantly vacationing, relaxing & making shady deals with other countries, & that Barack was always playing golf, doing much of his traveling in a fume spewing 747 to play golf in Hawaii – Once even teeing off immediately after announcing the gruesome death of a great young man by ISIS!’    

President Trump defended his playing golf over the holiday weekend after coming under fire in a Joe Biden political campaign ad

President Trump defended his playing golf over the holiday weekend after coming under fire in a Joe Biden political campaign ad

Former President Barack Obama is pictured delivering a statement from Martha's Vineyard in August 2014 after the beheading of  American journalist James Foley

Former President Barack Obama is pictured delivering a statement from Martha’s Vineyard in August 2014 after the beheading of  American journalist James Foley

Trump attempted to justify his golfing during the pandemic to a time when in 2014, Obama was spotted golfing shortly after the beheading of journalist James Foley

Trump attempted to justify his golfing during the pandemic to a time when in 2014, Obama was spotted golfing shortly after the beheading of journalist James Foley 

Trump has decided to spend the Memorial Day weekend holiday at his private golf club in Virginia, but his tweet referred to a moment in 2014 when President Obama went golfing, immediately after speaking about the beheading of American journalist, James Foley. 

Obama was vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, when Islamic militants released the gruesome video of the killing.

Obama strongly condemned the killing but then minutes later, he was photographed golfing, which caused critics to accuse him of insensitivity. The former president later said he should have known better. 

Trump’s response came after the presumptive Democratic nominee tweeted that the presidency required more than ‘tweeting from your golf cart.’  

The former Vice President slammed Trump's response to coronavirus, saying that he is 'playing golf' while 'nearly 100,000 Americans have died'

The former Vice President slammed Trump’s response to coronavirus, saying that he is ‘playing golf’ while ‘nearly 100,000 Americans have died’

'The presidency is about a lot more than tweeting from your golf cart. It requires taking on the ultimate responsibility for the biggest decisions in the world. Donald Trump simply wasn¿t prepared for that. I promise you I will be,' Biden tweeted

‘The presidency is about a lot more than tweeting from your golf cart. It requires taking on the ultimate responsibility for the biggest decisions in the world. Donald Trump simply wasn’t prepared for that. I promise you I will be,’ Biden tweeted

Joe Biden's latest political ad took aim at the amount of time the president spends on the links

Joe Biden’s latest political ad took aim at the amount of time the president spends on the links

The ad cuts between footage of Trump playing golf and people getting tested and treated for Covid-19 by health care professionals

The ad cuts between footage of Trump playing golf and people getting tested and treated for Covid-19 by health care professionals

Trump decided to spend the Memorial Day weekend holiday at his private golf club in Sterling, Virginia. 

‘The presidency is about a lot more than tweeting from your golf cart. It requires taking on the ultimate responsibility for the biggest decisions in the world. Donald Trump simply wasn’t prepared for that. I promise you I will be,’ Biden wrote.   

He followed his tweet with a political attack ad against Trump along similar lines framing his response to the crisis as inadequate. 

The 30-second ad shows video shows Trump playing golf at his Virginia club on Saturday and is cut with footage of front-line health workers pictured in hospitals, taking COVID-19 tests, and speaking to patients on gurneys.  

Throughout the video a red bar graph can be seen increasing as the number of coronavirus-related deaths edges towards 100,000.

‘The death toll is still rising. The President is playing golf,’ the text reads.  

President Donald Trump is seen playing golf Sunday at his Trump National Golf Course outside of Washington D.C.

President Donald Trump is seen playing golf Sunday at his Trump National Golf Course outside of Washington D.C. 

Trump arrived at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia on Sunday morning wearing a white polo shirt and a white baseball cap

Trump arrived at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia on Sunday morning wearing a white polo shirt and a white baseball cap

Trump was spotted leaving the White House on Sunday wearing a white polo shirt and a white baseball cap.

He was seen driving his own golf cart on the 800-acre private golf club he owns about 20 minutes south of Washington D.C. A bevy of carts followed him, likely consisting of fellow players and his Secret Service agents. 

Trump also started his Saturday with a game of golf. It marked the first time the president hit the links since March 8, his last weekend in Mar-a-Lago before the coronavirus shuttered normal life.

The president, however, failed to practice social distancing when he was at his members-only club on Saturday.

Trump, who has repeatedly refused to wear a face mask despite CDC recommendations, was seen once again mask-less and flouting social distancing requirements to stay six feet from other people by shaking hands with a fellow mask-less golfer. 

It was the longest duration he has gone without visiting one of his clubs since becoming president, according to NBC, which calculated he has visited his own properties on more than 400 days or around a third of his term.

As of Sunday night, the U.S. had recorded 1.6 million confirmed cases of the virus and 97,720 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

President Donald Trump was seen shaking hands with a fellow golfer Saturday

President Donald Trump was seen shaking hands with a fellow golfer Saturday

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