'Presidents don't do this': Trump ridiculed for tour of remodeling projects amid turmoil

President Donald Trump spent more than an hour and a half on a rainy Sunday morning inspecting renovation plans for a federal golf course in Washington, D.C. — a side project that drew mockery online, particularly given that it came just days after he blocked a housing relief bill.

The outing was documented in real time by White House pool reporters and amplified by critics who saw the priorities on display as telling.

Pool reporter Gerren Keith Gaynor reported that Trump was spotted getting out of his motorcade Sunday morning to visit East Potomac Golf Links, where he reviewed blueprints of likely renovations alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. CNN's Liz Landers, also in the pool, reported that the president drove into East Potomac Park in the rain and eventually got out to look along the Washington Channel, ultimately spending more than 90 minutes on site and at one point standing on the golf course itself with aides and Burgum.

C-SPAN's Howard Mortman noted that Trump and Burgum were presented with blueprints labeled "East Potomac Golf Links," and that the president "at times pointed toward the press." Pool reports later noted the presence of golf course designer Tom Fazio, who is working on the president's project.

The progressive account PatriotTakes drew the contrast that animated much of the online reaction, noting that Trump was "inspecting federal golf course renovations today after blocking a housing relief bill just a few days ago."

Columnist Sophia A. Nelson questioned why the president was personally involved in such projects at all.

"What is up with all of these renovations and projects? Presidents do not do this," Nelson wrote.

The golf course stop was not the only construction-related errand of the morning. Gaynor reported that after surveying the course, Trump's motorcade took a route by the Lincoln Memorial and across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, presumably to view where his planned arch is to be built in the capital.

Politico's Dan Diamond added more detail on the president's growing list of personal beautification projects, reporting that a White House official said Trump had also walked through Lafayette Park to "personally check on the restoration progress." Diamond had earlier reported on what he described as a new Trump "side project" — wanting Lafayette Square to feature exactly 47 trees to match his standing as the 47th president.

The account Bad Fox Graphics took a sharper swing, casting the Burgum huddle as the two men "plotting" to remake Washington with "more Trump-themed construction," including a permanent perimeter fence around Lafayette Square "to keep the riff-raff out."

The cumulative picture — a president devoting a rainy Sunday to golf course blueprints, tree counts, and arch sites while a housing relief measure lay dead at his own hand — proved irresistible to critics, who framed it as a vivid snapshot of where the president's attention lies.