Trump's White House South Lawn tour draws criticism from CNN panel
Key Takeaways
- •Kasie Hunt said Trump spent 32 minutes on a spontaneous White House tour instead of the policy meeting listed on his schedule.
- •Kate Bedingfield said a president’s day is tightly managed, so using time this way reflects deliberate choices about priorities.
- •Marc Caputo said Trump’s use of time may help explain slipping approval ratings, including among Republicans.
- •Alex Thompson said Democrats in competitive races are pleased by the episode because they see it as time-wasting.
- •Mark Sanford said Trump appears focused on personal legacy projects, while Caputo said Trump has changed the GOP’s identity.
President Donald Trump's impromptu half-hour tour of the White House South Lawn drew criticism from a CNN panel over how he spent his time.
During a Wednesday segment on CNN, Kasie Hunt said Trump spent 32 minutes leading reporters around the White House while discussing stones, flagpoles, and his planned ballroom.
"32 minutes in a presidential day is an enormously long amount of time," Hunt said. "It doesn't feel like it. You can easily waste 32 minutes on Instagram like the rest of us, but he's running the country."
Kate Bedingfield, a former White House communications director for Joe Biden, said the president's day "is scheduled within minute increments, and there are decisions made that give him the time to do this rather than other things."
Hunt said Trump's schedule initially listed him as attending a policy meeting during the time slot he used for the impromptu tour.
"I would just be absolutely ripping my hair out," Bedingfield said.
Axios reporter Alex Thompson said, "Democrats running in competitive seats are jumping for joy" because of Trump's time-wasting.
Politico reporter Marc Caputo said Trump's use of his time is part of the reason "why his approval ratings have been slipping, even among Republicans." He added that Trump focuses on his projects because "he loves it. He is the builder in chief."
The discussion also reflected a broader tension that often follows Trump coverage: personal projects at the White House can become a proxy for questions about priorities, especially when the president's day is already tightly managed and public scrutiny is high.
Mark Sanford, the Republican former governor of South Carolina, suggested Trump is trying to achieve "immortality" through his personal projects.
"It's frightening in that none of us are wild about dying, but I think he's preoccupied with it. It's a triumphant arch, whether it's renaming the peace center, whether it's the ballroom, you just go down the list," Sanford said. "It ought to be your actions in a governance role that stand out."
Caputo also said Trump has "stamped his legacy on the GOP and altered its DNA."
