President Donald Trump has begun his first week of what aides call a 17-day "working vacation" ensconced at his luxurious golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey. but, as has often happened to his predecessors, outside events are intruding on his time.

Trump had no public events on his schedule during the weekend, although he did drop by a wedding at the resort to wish the bride and groom well, according to ABC News. His aides declined to reveal the rest of his schedule in advance, although he was expected to play golf and receive national security briefings. But larger realities intruded when Trump talked by phone with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to coordinate a response to recent North Korean provocations, including missile tests. Trump also tweeted that he was "very happy" about the United Nations Security Council vote on Saturday imposing more sanctions against North Korea.

Trump found time to air some grievances. He complained on Twitter that the media are downplaying his achievements. "The Fake News refuses to report the success of the first 6 months: S.C. [apparently a reference to the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court], surging economy & jobs, border & military security, ISIS & MS-13, etc.," Trump tweeted.

Trump joins a long line of presidents who have been criticized for choosing leisure time over work in Washington. But this is a particular sore point for Trump because he didn't defend presidential "working vacations" until he took office. Prior to this, he criticized predecessor Barack Obama for playing too much golf and taking too many holidays during his presidency.

Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday evening, "Working in Bedminster, N.J., as long planned construction is being done at the White House. This is not a vacation--meetings and calls!" And it's true that a major construction project began in the West Wing as soon as Trump left on Friday. But he could have chosen to continue working at another venue in Washington, D.C. or at the official presidential compound at Camp David, Md., instead of shifting operations all the way to Bedminster, largely at taxpayer expense.

August is often a difficult month for presidents trying to take a break. In August 2014, while Obama was vacationing at posh Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, he felt it was necessary for him to keep track, quite publicly, of the rioting against police in Ferguson, Missouri. Obama emerged from his holiday bubble to make a statement that there was no "excuse for violence against police" and that "there's also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests." After his statement to reporters, Obama went directly to the links, prompting additional criticism that he was being insensitive.

President George W. Bush endured enormous criticism for the weak federal response to Hurricane Katrina during his summer vacation in August 2005. Enjoying his Texas ranch, Bush waited too long to take much of a visible interest in the lethal storm. He cut his vacation short but by then the perception had become widespread that he was too distant from the crisis.

As I pointed out in my book "From Mount Vernon to Crawford: A History of the Presidents and Their Retreats," criticizing presidents on vacation has become a ritual in Washington as the opposition attempts to use these occasions to score political points. This is happening to Trump now.