Trump ditches press pool to play golf

By Eugene Scott and Kevin Liptak, CNN

Updated 3:07 PM EST, Sat December 31, 2016

In transition: President-elect Trump

President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Martin Luther King III after they met at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, January 16. Afterward, King said the meeting was "constructive" and that the two discussed the importance of voting accessibility. Trump didn't speak to the media about the meeting.

1 of 30

Story highlights

A club member tweeted a picture of the President-elect with himself at Trump National Golf Club
The press pool exists to keep Americans informed about the president's whereabouts

(CNN) President-elect Donald Trump ditched his press pool Saturday to play golf, the latest example of his break with precedent regarding the media covering him and his transition.

"He made a last-minute trip to Jupiter. We weren't aware and appreciate everyone's understanding. We are in the home stretch of this transition period and don't anticipate any additional situations like this between now and inauguration," Trump spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told reporters. "We've really made an effort to provide as much access and comfort as possible over the past two weeks and are proud of the way we have all worked together."

A club member tweeted a picture of the President-elect with himself at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, which alerted reporters to the President-elect's visit. The Jupiter club is about a half hour away from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, where he is staying.

Trump's motorcade was seen leaving the club around 2:15 p.m. ET.

The press pool, a small group of journalists assigned to cover the president, exists to keep Americans informed about the president's whereabouts. In the case of an emergency, the president and his team often relies on journalists to quickly relay information to the American people.

Trump has abandoned his press pool several times since his election victory in early November. After ditching the press twice in a week, the White House Correspondents Association called the practice "unacceptable."

Outbrain