Story highlights Tim Stanley: Trump's expenses on golf outings and security for his wife and son remaining in New York are shocking

GOP says it hates big government, but watch how it cuts programs to save money while bankrolling the self indulgence of the President, Stanley notes

Timothy Stanley is a historian and columnist for Britain's Daily Telegraph. He is the author of "Citizen Hollywood: How the Collaboration Between LA and DC Revolutionized American Politics." The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

(CNN) Presidents should be encouraged to play golf. The more golf they play, the less time they have to mess with our lives. I'm sure liberals would gladly raise the money to buy Donald Trump a golden golf cart if it kept him out of the White House.

Timothy Stanley

In fact, he needs little encouragement. Trump has played his 16th round of golf since becoming President. For this we might be grateful, were it not for two complaints: cost and shameless hypocrisy.

There's good reason to defend the role of golf in US politics. It's the presidential game. The sport is kind on the bones of older, powerful men; it's a chance to mix gentle leisure with one-on-one diplomacy. And the symbolism of a man or a woman whacking a ball across a luxurious green is 100% American: individualism, abundance, good humor.

It can even expose flaws in policy. For a lot of folks my age, the recklessness and stupidity of neoconservatism was summed up in 2002 by George W. Bush briefing reporters on the war on terror in his golf clothes. "Now watch this drive," he said, and sent his reputation into the long grass. For while golf is undoubtedly a sport of champions, it's also a sport for loafers. Which brings us to Donald Trump.

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