politics

Donald Trump Spends 60 Percent of His Time Doing…?

Donald Trump.
Donald Trump. Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

On Sunday, Axios published Donald Trump’s leaked schedules for the past three months. As it turns out, 60 percent of the president’s working hours during that period were designated as “Executive Time,” which we all know is Trump’s time to … do something or other?

Axios received the president’s private schedules through a mysterious “White House source.” The schedules detailed Trump’s working days since the midterm elections. The leak didn’t really uncover anything too startling — Trump apparently wakes up early (as we know from his morning tweets) and his days can include various briefings and meetings.

But beyond that, the schedules also showed that 60 percent of Trump’s time — or 297 hours — during the past three months was spent in “Executive Time.” And while each day’s schedule typically starts out with Trump in “Location: Oval Office” from 8 to 11 a.m., six (!!!) sources told Axios that he “is never in the Oval during those hours.” Per Axios:

Instead, he spends his mornings in the residence, watching TV, reading the papers, and responding to what he sees and reads by phoning aides, members of Congress, friends, administration officials and informal advisers.

Of course, the concept of Trump’s “Executive Time” isn’t new. In January 2018, Axios obtained Trump’s private schedule from that period, which showed he also spent several hours in “Executive Time.” And an October report by Politico delved into what exactly these hours of blocked off time truly entails; in essence, it’s when Trump gets to do whatever he wants — namely, gets to call friends, tweet, and watch TV during the work day.

Axios notes in the Sunday report that occasionally, some of Trump’s meetings will fall under his schedule as “Executive Time” so as to avoid leaks. Additionally, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Axios that Trump has a “different leadership style than his predecessors” and “while he spends much of his average day in scheduled meetings, events, and calls, there is time to allow for a more creative environment that has helped make him the most productive president in modern history.”

Okay, sure.

Donald Trump Spends 60 Percent of His Time Doing…?