Donald Trump spends 12th consecutive weekend away from White House at Trump-branded resort
President has spent 33 days out of 94 at his own residences since taking office - travelling with his family and a large security detail at taxpayers' expense
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Your support makes all the difference.Since his first trip to Mar-a-Lago in early February, the longest stretch Donald Trump has gone without visiting one of the properties that is part of his private business empire has been six days. From 27 March to 1 April, he didn't spend time at Mar-a-Lago or at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida or at Trump National in Virginia or at his hotel down the street from the White House.
Of the 94 days he has been president, he has spent all or part of his time at Trump-branded properties on 33 of them, or an average of once every 2.8 days.
He has visited one of his private properties on at least one day during each of the past 12 weekends. On Saturday, he had dinner at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, his second such visit since being inaugurated and his fourth this year.
A new poll from The Washington Post and our partners at ABC News finds, though, that most Americans don't see this as a conflict of interest. Forty-three percent of Americans see these trips as a conflict, but a majority, 54 percent, don't. (The question posed to respondents: “Do you think that Trump spending time at properties he owns represents a conflict of interest because it promotes those properties, or do you think this is not a conflict because he has the right to go where he wants?”)
There's a broad split by party and by 2016 vote choice, as you might expect. Half of those who voted third party think it's a conflict, as do 72 percent of those who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton. But among Republicans and Trump voters, fewer than 1 in 10 see it as a conflict. Importantly, among independents - a group that has been more critical of Trump than of other recent new presidents - fewer than half express concern.
There hasn't been any indication that Trump is particularly concerned about questions over the amount of time he spends at his private business properties. This poll suggests that, politically at least, that indifference is warranted.
The Washington Post
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