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Trump Spends Christmas Golfing in Florida as Millions Await COVID Relief

The president has still not signed a bill that would issue $600 checks to most Americans - he says he wants more.

President Trump appears to have taken Christmas off and golfed in Florida on Friday as millions of Americans wait to hear whether he will sign a bill to keep the government open and distribute much-needed pandemic aid. The president’s public schedule was wide open on Christmas Day, and while his private schedule was not available, he did go golfing with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). The holiday outing nudges the number of taxpayer dollars spent on the president’s golf trips past $151.5 million, according to HuffPost.

On Friday afternoon, the president tweeted, “Made many calls and had meetings at Trump International in Palm Beach, Florida. Why would politicians not want to give people $2000, rather than only $600? It wasn’t their fault, it was China. Give our people the money!” Unemployment benefits, eviction protections and pandemic aid will all be either cut off or delayed if Trump doesn’t sign the bill and lawmakers can’t come to an agreement. The U.S. has counted more than 330,000 coronavirus deaths, and public health officials are bracing for a post-holiday surge in cases.