Kathrine Frich
The president added that he enjoys fixing up the property.
Presidents usually speak of their official residence with deep reverence.
History echoes through the famous halls, and the prestige of the address is entirely unmatched.
But the current occupant has a noticeably different view of his historic home.
A familiar word
Donald Trump recently took to social media to complain about the state of the executive mansion. He shared his thoughts on Truth Social over the weekend.
According to a report by The HuffPost the president claimed the building was in terrible condition when he returned to office. He blamed his predecessors for the mess.
“Frankly, it was a ‘dump!’ Past Presidents did not take care of it,” he wrote on the platform.
The president added that he enjoys fixing up the property. He claimed to handle these renovations during his spare time, which he noted was quite limited.
Time away from work
That claim about a packed schedule raised some eyebrows. Observers quickly pointed to his actual whereabouts over the last two years.
Data from the tracking website didtrumpgolftoday.com paints a different picture of his calendar. The site notes the president has spent 136 out of 603 days of his second term at golf courses.
Taxpayers are footing a massive bill for those outings. The estimated cost sits around $190 million, according to the tracking group.
His recent beautification efforts around Washington have also frustrated local residents. And his choice of words on social media brought up a very specific memory from his first term.
Denying the past
Nine years ago, Trump furiously rejected a report that claimed he used that exact same four-letter word.
Sports Illustrated published a massive feature in 2017 by journalist Alan Shipnuck. The story claimed Trump told members of his Bedminster golf club that he visited the course because the White House was a dump.
Trump immediately hit back online.
“I love the White House, one of the most beautiful buildings (homes) I have ever seen. But Fake News said I called it a dump – TOTALLY UNTRUE,” he posted at the time.
Standing by the story
Hope Hicks served as the strategic communications director back then. She aggressively demanded a retraction from the reporter.
Shipnuck refused to back down. He defended his work during an appearance on a Golf.com podcast.
“I explained to [her that] it’s not a lie. The president said this in front of eight or nine members and staffers at [Trump] Bedminster,” Shipnuck said on the show.
The reporter described the comment as a moment of pure candor. “It might be inconvenient for her boss and she might wish he didn’t say it, but it’s not a lie,” he insisted.
Sources: Huffpost Truth Social, didtrumpgolftoday.com, Sports Illustrated, X, Golf.com
