“You’re going to have a little tournament. You’re going to determine who the best player is.”
On Friday, President Donald Trump appeared with about 60 U. S. Coast Guard members and spoke to the media before the members played golf at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
After Trump and the service members gathered in front of a waterfall, he thanked the Coast Guard for its service. “The job you did in Florida… the job they did in Texas saved 16,000 people,” Trump said, apparently referring to hurricane relief efforts in the area.
“So I just want to thank you,” he added.
The president specifically invited the service members, according to the White House, to thank them.
“These brave men and women patrol the waterways near Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago every day. The president wanted to thank these service members personally for their service to this nation,” deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said.
Trump previewed the tournament service members would participate in while the golf course was closed that day. “You’re going to have a little tournament. You’re going to determine who the best player is,” Trump said.
“It’s an honor to have you,” Trump said of the members’ appearance at Trump International Golf Club. “The Coast Guard is fantastic,” he added.
He suggested, however, that he didn’t expect so many members to show. “I asked, would a couple of people like to play golf? And a few people raised their hands … about 75 people showed up,” he said.
Contrary to comments made during his previous appearances, Trump pointed at the media and called them “terrific” and appeared to thank them for covering the event.
Trump also complimented some of the members’ hats which featured his “Make America Great Again” slogan. “I like those hats,” he said.
Their meeting came after a tweet-filled morning in which the president touted his record, criticized the U. S. Postal Service, and indicated that without border wall funding, he wouldn’t make a deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
According to the White House press schedule, the president had no events scheduled for Friday. Some on social media speculated that he failed to “get back to work” even though he said he would after Christmas.
“I hope everyone is having a great Christmas, then tomorrow it’s back to work in order to Make America Great Again,” Trump tweeted on Christmas.
Watch Trump’s remarks below, via Fox News.
