Trump spotted playing golf as virus tolls soar in US

Trump's return to the course was the latest sign that he wants the country back to pre-outbreak times, even as the US death toll from the virus nears 100,000, twice what he once predicted it would be. The President also planned Memorial Day visits to Arlington National Cemetery and the Fort McHenry national monument in Baltimore, followed by a trip to Florida's coast to watch to US astronauts blast into orbit.

Washington:President Donald Trump played golf on Saturday for the first time since he declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency more than two months ago, leading to the shutdown of much of American society.

His return to the course was the latest sign that he wants the country back to pre-outbreak times, even as the US death toll from the virus nears 100,000, twice what he once predicted it would be.

Trump also planned Memorial Day visits to Arlington National Cemetery and the Fort McHenry national monument in Baltimore, followed by a trip to Florida's coast on Wednesday to watch to US astronauts blast into orbit.

Read |Trump to attend Wednesday's NASA astronaut launch in Florida

The golf outing came a day after Trump said houses of worship are essential and he demanded that governors allow them to reopen during the holiday weekend. It also followed guidance from Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, that it was OK for people to be outdoors this weekend as long as they took appropriate safety precautions.

Trump pulled away from the White House on a sunny morning wearing a white polo shirt, white cap, and dark slacks. Photographs that appeared later on Twitter showed him swinging a golf club and driving alone in a cart on the course at his private Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

The White House had no comment on the President's activities at the club but said he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had discussed the pandemic's effect on the global economy on Saturday.

Read |Wuhan lab head calls virus leak claims 'pure fabrication'

The golf trip was the President's first visit to one of his money-making properties since March 8, when he visited his private golf club in West Palm Beach during a weekend at his Florida home. The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic on March 11, and Trump followed with the national emergency declaration two days later.

Trump is an avid golfer who has been overheard telling his White House guests how much he missed playing the game.

On Friday, Birx said it's OK for Americans to play golf, tennis or other sports this weekend if you stay 6 feet apart.

She also said the Washington metropolitan area had the highest positivity rate in the country. The capital city’s coronavirus death rate is higher than all but four states: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

The US leads the world with a reported 1.6 million coronavirus cases and more than 96,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Trump's rival Joe Biden left no stone unturned to slam the President.

He tweeted, "Nearly 100,000 lives have been lost, and tens of millions are out of work. Meanwhile, the president spent his day golfing."

Trump has ordered US flags on federal buildings and national monuments to half-staff through Sunday in memory of Americans lost to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Trump levied frequent criticism of Barack Obama's regular golf outings when he was president.

“Can you believe that with all of the problems and difficulties facing the US, President Obama spent the day playing golf. Worse than Carter,” Trump tweeted in October 2014 during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, comparing Obama to former President Jimmy Carter.

Trump's tweet on Obama.

(AP)