During the government shutdown of President Donald Trump's first term, he "wanted the world to know he was making sacrifices," CNN reports, but not so this time around, when he is busy partying at his posh Palm Beach country club Mar-a-Lago, seemingly unmoved by the mess.
The current government shutdown, which began on October 1, is the longest in U.S. history. As of November 5, it has entered its 36th day, surpassing the previous record of 35 days.
“I am all alone (poor me) in the White House,” Trump tweeted on Christmas Eve 2018. "I haven’t actually left the White House in months,” he said a few weeks later.
CNN said Trump was "so lonely," that "he took to waving forlornly out the window at machine gun-toting guards patrolling the White House grounds ('They don’t, like, wave,' he observed)."
During his first term, Trump seemed somewhat cognizant of the optics of fleeing to Mar-a-Lago, where his family was living it up, during a government shutdown.
"Back then, Trump seemed aware that weekly visits to his seaside mansion or lengthy trips overseas might appear insensitive as federal workers went without pay and government services ground to a halt," CNN says.
"It's a different story this year," they note, adding that Trump has been keeping busy doing things that he never did during the first shutdown.
"Trump has spent two weekends at Mar-a-Lago since the shutdown began on October 1, and played a round of golf at his club in Virginia. On Wednesday — as the shutdown becomes the longest in American history — he will travel to Miami for a speech to a financial conference. He’s expected back at his Palm Beach estate by Friday evening," they report.
Trump also made two trips abroad, to Israel and Egypt, and then on a three-state swing through Asia, where he was "met with lavish receptions and golden tributes."
"If Trump is concerned about appearing disconnected from the struggles of furloughed workers, stranded travelers or worried food stamp beneficiaries, there isn’t much evidence," CNN says.
Before heading to Florida last week, Trump posted a plethora of photos of the newly revamped Lincoln bathroom, and then was photographed at a swanky, "Great Gatsby"-themed Halloween ball at Mar-a-Lago that critics slammed for its tacky tone deaf "narrative of Jazz Age hedonism."
The theme of that party was "A little party never killed nobody,” which is also the title of a song by Fergie, Q-Tip and GoonRock from the soundtrack of the 2013 film version of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic.
In Florida, Trump also made a detour at the airport to inspect his private black-and-red Boeing 757, CNN reports, which he used to travel the country during his presidential campaign last year.
"The jet is upholstered in cream leather; its seatbelt buckles are plated in 24-carat gold," they note, adding that "around the rest of the country on Sunday, more than 5,000 flights traveling from and to US airports were delayed, in part because of staffing shortages among unpaid air traffic controllers."