The new contract, which the Secret Service described as an “emergency order,” does not mention Trump or the golf club by name. But it closely mirrors past contracts signed by the Secret Service, for agents accompanying Trump to his golf clubs in New Jersey and Florida.

The White House declined to comment Wednesday. Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, did not respond to questions.

This must be fake news. Surely the president would not compel the Secret Service to spend $45,000 on renting golf carts to protect him so he can play golf while millions of Americans are suddenly jobless and confined to their houses, left to contemplate their economic ruin. Surely not. Not this president. Because doing that would fulfill every Marxist stereotype of the rich, and a populist right-wing president wouldn’t behave that way — certainly not in an election year.

Right?

UPDATE: Many readers have made the point that this contract is for rental between now and the end of September. That sum, $45,000, is not so bad when stretched out over six months. I still have a bee in my bonnet about this president playing golf during this unprecedented crisis (I would feel the same way about any president doing that), and I have hated the way Trump’s properties have made a lot of money off his personal travels. But I agree that my reaction to this was emotional, and not driven by a careful analysis of the figure. I apologize.