Trump says he's too busy to throw out first pitch after weekend of golfing

Donald Trump claimed Sunday that he would no longer throw out the first pitch at a New York Yankees game next month because he was too busy dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump made the statement after spending the weekend golfing at his New Jersey resort.

“Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won’t be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the [New York] Yankees on August 15th,” Trump tweeted on Sunday afternoon, using a racist term for the coronavirus. “We will make it later in the season!”

Trump announced his intention to throw out the first pitch during a White House event on Thursday with former Yankees’ Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera.

Over the weekend, the White House released a photo of Trump golfing with former NFL quarterback Brett Favre at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The outing marked at least the sixth time Trump golfed one of his own properties in the month of July, according to Trump Golf Count.

He also played golf on July 3, 5, 11, 18, and 19 at his Virginia golf resort.

Trump has continued hitting the links even as the coronavirus crisis worsens across the country.

The United States saw more than 1 million new coronavirus cases during July, and outbreaks have been especially severe in Sun Belt states like Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California.

According to the Washington Post, from July 21 through July 24, more than 1,000 Americans died each day from the virus, the highest death toll since May.

A majority of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the crisis, according to a new poll released Sunday by the Associated Press.

Just 32% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the pandemic, down from 44% in March. Even among Republicans, just 2 in 3 approve of how he has responded to the crisis.

On Monday, the nation had more than 4.2 million confirmed coronavirus cases. At least 146,754 people have died.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.