Inside Trump's 72-Hour Whirlwind: Golf, Graceland, and Grave-Dancing
It was a Saturday morning in Florida, with the sun shining and temperatures soaring above 70 degrees. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, was securely tucked away within the confines of his West Palm Beach golf club, a property he has owned for three decades. As part of the rotating press pool, my job was to stay close to the commander-in-chief, ready for any development. What unfolded over the next 72 hours was a roller-coaster ride through the entire spectrum of what it means to travel with the 47th president.
A Weekend of Controversy and Secrecy
Less than a day earlier, I had flown aboard Air Force One with President Trump and a small group of staff and advisers to Mar-a-Lago, his primary residence since 2019. During the flight from Joint Base Andrews, Trump did not visit the press cabin, but we watched a live feed of him speaking to reporters on the South Lawn. He dismissed the Iranian government as "thugs and animals and horrible people" and claimed "a lot of progress" in back-channel talks with Tehran, though he provided no details.
After a brief motorcade to Mar-a-Lago, we were dismissed for the evening with instructions to gather at 7:15 the next morning. The next day, we followed Trump's motorcade through Palm Beach, eventually peeling off into a library parking lot as the rest of the convoy headed toward Trump International Golf Club. The White House remained tight-lipped about his activities, adhering to an unspoken rule: do not discuss Donald Trump's golf habit.
The Macabre Reason for the Press Pool
This hurry-up-and-wait routine might seem mundane, but it has a critical purpose rooted in history. In 1963, UPI reporter Merriman Smith was in a press pool car in Dallas when he heard shots fired at President John F. Kennedy's motorcade, leading to the first report of the assassination. Decades later, pool cameras captured the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. More recently, a pool camera recorded the near-miss shooting of Trump in 2024. Our presence is a safeguard against such tragedies, though on this weekend, it meant waiting in empty rooms for news.
Eventually, a source confirmed Trump had played nine holes of golf, skipped a few for security reasons, and played two more. But as we prepared to leave, news broke that former FBI Director Robert Mueller had died at age 81. I texted a White House official about a statement, and within minutes, I was directed to a Truth Social post where Trump wrote, "Good, I'm glad he's dead." The message was so shocking that some sources questioned its authenticity, but it was real.
Threats, Walk-Backs, and a Surreal Finale
Trump followed up with more posts denigrating Mueller, then outdid himself five hours later by threatening to attack Iran's power grid unless Tehran allowed oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. This brazen threat, potentially constituting war crimes, risked tanking markets when they opened on Monday. However, after another day of golf (confirmed despite White House silence), Trump posted an all-caps Truth Social message claiming "very good and productive" talks with Iran and calling off the strikes. Iranian officials denied any talks, but markets rebounded.
On Monday, we flew to Memphis for a law enforcement roundtable at the airport. Trump spoke for nearly an hour, veering off-topic to discuss Iran, election grievances, and his real reason for visiting Memphis: Elvis Presley. He announced he would tour Graceland, saying, "I love Elvis, but I never met him. But I'm going to go see Graceland after this."
A Visit to the King's Home
We were hustled through Graceland's front door to capture Trump's arrival. He was greeted by executives who showed him the Presidential Medal of Freedom he had awarded Presley posthumously. Trump remarked, "We love Elvis. Who doesn't love Elvis? Everybody loves Elvis, right?" He then turned to the cameras, repeating talking points about crime stats, adding, "Elvis would be very happy about that, right?" Presley, who died in 1977, was not available for comment.
Over three days, Trump managed to outrage both parties, threaten war crimes, walk back those threats, play 20 holes of golf, and cap it off with a surreal visit to an American icon's home. It was a whirlwind glimpse into the chaotic world of traveling with a president who never stops surprising.
