Trump had originally planned on using Air Force One on Friday afternoon to fly to Morristown, N.J., and then planned to stay the weekend at his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., according to CNBC.
In the meantime, on Wednesday this week, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut issued a travel advisory that requires people arriving from states with high coronavirus rates to quarantine for 14 days.
The quarantine applies to anyone coming from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average, according to the joint announcement from the governors of the three states.
The president’s upcoming golf trip drew a lot of criticism after Trump said he would not follow New Jersey guidelines and would ignore a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers coming from states with coronavirus spikes, reports Politico.
“The president of the United States is not a civilian,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said when asked about Trump’s compliance with the quarantine order given his travel Tuesday to Arizona, which has seen a rise in the rate of its COVID-19 cases.
“With regard to Arizona, the White House followed its COVID mitigation plan to ensure the president did not come into contact with anyone who was symptomatic or had not been tested,” the spokesman added.
It is hard to say what really is behind the president’s abrupt change of plans today. It can’t be because he would be arrested in New Jersey for defying the governor’s order – after all, Trump’s position as the country’s commander-in-chief means he is “essential,” according to The Hill.
“It has nothing to do with that,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said when asked if the cancellation was related to the travel regulations. However, he also didn’t give a reason why the trip was canceled, either.
