President Donald Trump has tried to justify his takeover of a public Washington, D.C., golf course by branding it a "Trash Island," prompting local golfers to denounce him for making the course's problems worse, according to a report from The Daily Beast.

Trump and his administration have been embroiled in a months-long legal battle over his desire to heavily renovate the East Potomac Golf Links, with the president revealing plans over the weekend to turn it into a high-end 18-hole course in the mold of his own golf resorts. D.C. residents have taken issue with plans that would tear up the island course's much-beloved landscape, including an iconic loop of cherry blossom trees.

In defending the takeover — in a manner notably similar to his claims about the Kennedy Center — Trump has insisted that the East Potomac Links are badly in need of renovation and cleanup.

The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday that Trump shared dozens of photos on Truth Social showing abandoned equipment, piles of discarded logs and debris, and what he described as a "collapsing sea wall." The posts were part of his attempt to highlight how much "Trash Island" needs to be renovated into a course capable of hosting events such as the U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup.

Local golfers, however, are not buying the president's arguments, contending that while the course could have used some work, it was not in such dire condition that it required a drastic overhaul. They have also attacked Trump for making its problems far worse after flouting a judge's order and ripping out its trees. The disagreement is therefore over both the course's condition and whether a public, affordable facility on Park Service land should be remade as a high-end destination.

The report cited comments made to The Washington Post by Gus Johnson, 67, who has been visiting East Potomac for 20 years, and who tore into Trump for ruining the course's trees.

"It's disgusting. It makes me sick," Johnson said. "He's destroyed the course."

He added: "This is Park Service land. It's what we have as a layperson. Trump is turning it into a country club for the rich."

Chris Lawrence, 66, has played the course about once a week for the past 36 years. He argued that the issues Trump has raised about East Potomac are simply to be expected at an affordable public facility.

"This has always been a course for the common person," Lawrence said. "It's for everyone, it's not an elite place."

A new piece from Golfweek slammed the renovation plans, arguing there is "dubious need and little desire" for them. It also pointed out the harsh reality that the major golf events Trump believes could be hosted on the island are already booked — in some cases well into the 2040s — making it likely that Trump might never see an event held there in his lifetime.

Employees of East Potomac, meanwhile, say the areas Trump attacked as "Trash Island" were largely confined to a section of the course that is mostly out of public view, which they have dubbed "the Boneyard." The Daily Beast described it as a "secluded location where broken equipment and other disused items were dumped."