That's far later than George W. Bush, who typically arrived in the Oval by 6:45am. Obama worked out first thing in the morning and usually got into the Oval between 9 and 10am, according to a former senior aide.
Of course, 11:00 am is only one hour before lunch, and Axxis reports Trump spends a "good deal of time" in the dining room next to his office making phone calls and watching cable TV. Axios quotes these examples from his "real schedule" this week:
On Tuesday, Trump has his first meeting of the day with Chief of Staff John Kelly at 11am. He then has "Executive Time" for an hour followed by an hour lunch in the private dining room. Then it's another 1 hour 15 minutes of "Executive Time" followed by a 45 minute meeting with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. Then another 15 minutes of "Executive Time" before Trump takes his last meeting of the day — a 3:45pm meeting with the head of Presidential Personnel Johnny DeStefano — before ending his official day at 4:15pm.
.. On Thursday, the president has an especially light schedule: "Policy Time" at 11am, then "Executive Time" at 12pm, then lunch for an hour, then more "Executive Time" from 1:30p
Why I'm not surprised: We knew from his campaign days he reportedly has a short attention span. He probably can't sit still at a desk long enough to accomplish anything but a photo-op.
I also suspect Trump is bored, which frequently happens when people don't understand the conversation in the room around them, or the conversation doesn't focus enough on them personally to keep them interested.
Sara Saunders disagrees. When asked to respond to the Axios article, she didn't disagree with the time schedules or where Trump was, but she spinned this alternative version of his "executive time."
"The time in the morning is a mix of residence time and Oval Office time but he always has calls with staff, Hill members, cabinet members and foreign leaders during this time. The President is one of the hardest workers I've ever seen and puts in long hours and long days nearly every day of the week all year long. It has been noted by reporters many times that they wish he would slow down because they sometimes have trouble keeping up with him."
I won't be surprised if after Trump's tenure at the oval office desk is over, he goes on some late night TV show and says it was a really boring job.
The only time Trump seems focused and not bored is at his own rallies where his under-informed supporters turn out to cheer him and his bizarre alternative version of events. I think the more time he spends at rallies and on AF One, the less time he spends on policy and making decisions. That's a good thing, except when his equally uninformed children sit in his place, in which case it's a toss-up as to what's worse.
