President Donald Trump, like hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans do every weekday, headed across the Hudson River to New York Sunday afternoon.

His mode of transportation, however, was different than the ones used by regular commuters.

Trump departed his Bedminster golf club via the Marine One helicopter at 5:22 p.m. and arrived in New York City about 20 minutes later, according to White House pool reports. He planned to have dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Sunday evening in New York, where the president will attend the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

During his weekend stay at Bedminster, he hosted a fundraiser for the Republican Governors Association, the group then-Gov. Chris Christie once chaired.

About 30 people were scheduled to attend the Saturday night dinner, including the current chairman, Tennesee Gov. Bill Haslam, according to pool reports quoting a Republican with knowledge of the event.



The White House and governors association declined to say how much the group expected to raise nor how much it cost to attend the dinner.

Other groups also have paid to hold fundraisers at Trump's golf club, but none as much as his own campaign committee, which spent $67,448 from June to December 2016 for events and lodging. More than 60 percent of that amount -- $41,843 -- was spent in November and December, after Trump was elected president.

This was Trump's first visit to Bedminster since mid-August. Until his month-long absence, he had been a frequent guest there this year, including a 12-day stay while renovations were being made to the White House.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.