One of President Donald Trump's White House staffers rushed to his defense on Sunday after three months' worth of private schedules leaked over the weekend.
According to documents obtained and published by Axios, from November 7, 2018, to February 1, 2019, 60 percent of Trump's days were spent in unstructured "Executive Time."
Madeline Westerhout, Director of Oval Operations and special assistant to the president, blasted the leaks as "disgraceful" on Twitter and it reads like it was written by Trump, particularly:
"This POTUS is working harder for the American people than anyone in recent history."
Not to mention "Hundreds of calls and meetings" every day. Really?
People weren't buying her Trump boosterism.
Upon examination of the schedules, it's clear why the White House wouldn't want them publicized.
Trump "wakes before 6 a.m., is never in the Oval during those hours, according to six sources with direct knowledge," Axios reported. "Instead, he spends his mornings in the residence, watching TV, reading the papers, and responding to what he sees and reads by phoning aides, members of Congress, friends, administration officials and informal advisers."
Trump's first meeting of the day, which is typically his intelligence briefing, reportedly takes place around 11:30. Must be nice.
Axios noted that the private schedules do not include every meeting because many of them are "spur of the moment." There are also other meetings that occur but are only known by Trump's innermost circle.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also responded to the Axios report.
"President Trump has a different leadership style than his predecessors and the results speak for themselves," Sanders said in a statement. "While he spends much of his average day in scheduled meetings, events, and calls, there is time to allow for a more creative environment that has helped make him the most productive President in modern history."
Sanders listed Trump's alleged accomplishments, and it again sounds like Trump.
"President Trump has ignited a booming economy with lower taxes and higher wages, established the USA as the #1 producer of oil and gas in the world, remade our judiciary, rebuilt our military, and renegotiated better trade deals," Sanders said. "It’s indisputable that our country has never been stronger than it is today under the leadership of President Trump."
Sure. Why is there so much unstructured time?
Trump's daily tweets, which frequently parrot what he consumes from Fox News, are, to many, a dead giveaway to his work ethic.
Maybe this is why Trump's desk is often empty.
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