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Donald Trump plays golf after the opening of The Trump International Golf Course on July 10, 2012 in Balmedie, Scotland.Ian MacNicol / Getty Images
- President Trump took the time Saturday to play golf on his Virginia course despite passing Category 5 hurricane Dorian on track to hit the southeast coast.
- Trump was to be at Camp David in Maryland to prepare for the hurricane, but went to his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, by helicopter, which took a little over four hours .
- The White House said Trump had received hourly information on the hurricane throughout the weekend. FEMA Acting Chief Pete Gaynor accompanied Trump on his trip away from Washington.
- Trump has so far played golf 212 times during his tenure.
- Read more stories like this at Business Insider.
President Donald Trump appeared to be playing golf Saturday, just days before the south-east coast states were hit by category 5 cyclone Dorian, described as catastrophic by the National Hurrican Center.
Official White House communications and the President's own statements before the weekend trip suggest that Trump would spend his time in Camp David, Maryland, watching and preparing for the storm.
According to press reports, Trump flew Saturday morning by helicopter to his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, from Camp David. Press officer Stephanie Grisham reportedly told reporters that a person from FEMA was briefing him on the hurricane every hour.
Trump left the course at 2:40 pm, according to his schedule, and received his full briefing at Camp David on his return.
Read more: Trump's golf outings would have cost taxpayers more than $ 100 million
The White House has not explicitly acknowledged that Trump played golf or who his partners were during his visit to the club.
The video published by The Hill, which comes from footage from CNN, seems to show Trump on the golf green Saturday. According to the text accompanying the original video, Trump can be seen as a black cap, a white shirt and beige pants.
Hurricane Dorian is due to approach US shores on Monday Monday and early Tuesday morning as the authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations and states of emergency.
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will oversee the federal government's preparations and its response to the hurricane, despite the fact that the agency does not have a chief confirmed by the Senate. According to Politico, Pete Gaynor, FEMA's deputy administrator, currently holds the position of acting administrator of the agency after Brock Long's resignation due to his controversial use of government vehicles.
While concern over the potential damage of the storm was increasing, Trump dismissed potential concerns about Gaynor's experience before the storm, telling reporters Friday that "acting gives you a great flexibility that you do not have with the permanent ones ".
Gaynor reportedly accompanied Trump to Camp David to provide updates, but it is unclear whether or not he was present on the golf course with Trump.
According to Trump Golf Count, a website that tracks Trump's golf trips, Trump played golf 212 times while he was president.
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