AP
In this photo taken Jan. 28, 2017, President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Transcripts of President Donald Trump’s conversations with the leaders of Mexico and Australia in January offer new details on how the president parried with the leaders over the politics of the border wall and refugee policy, with random asides on subjects including drug abuse in New Hampshire.
Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017 | 7:18 p.m.
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Donald Trump says he is hard at work while he takes a break from Washington.
On Twitter Saturday, Trump said: "Working in Bedminster, N.J., as long planned construction is being done at the White House. This is not a vacation - meetings and calls!"
Trump arrived at his private golf club in New Jersey on Friday for a 17-day stay. He held no public events Saturday and little information was available about how he spent the day. Aides did not answer questions about whether he played golf.
Presidents have a long tradition of leaving Washington during the summer. But there is also a practical explanation. Everyone working in the White House West Wing had to relocate so the government could replace a 27-year-old heating and cooling system.
Trump departed Washington Friday to his private golf club in central New Jersey. He was accompanied by the aide charged with resetting his chaotic administration— new chief of staff John Kelly.
A White House official said Trump's plans for Bedminster included meetings with aides and lawmakers. He was briefed by Kelly about the three U.S. Marines who were missing after their Osprey aircraft crashed into the sea off the east coast of Australia on Saturday while trying to land.
